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Alexander Heath BA and MA (Cardiff)

Mr Alexander Heath

(he/him)

BA and MA (Cardiff)

Teams and roles for Alexander Heath

Overview

My thesis is titled: Building Communities: Communal Commensality and Cult Practice. How and why did practiced communal commensality at sanctuary sites influence the character of community groups in late-eighth – fifth centuries Boiotia?

This project aims to track changes in commensal behaviour from a serieis of sactuary sites across Boiotia, largely by investigating changes in morphometric data. 'Riding the wave' of 'New Materialism', said dedicated objects are interpreted as physically tangible extensions of the actors themselves, where they are investigated as an expression of ones personhood. Through investigating practices at select sites across Boiotia, my project thus not only aims to answer questions surrounding whether different modes of 'human-thing' entanglements were active in different practicing communities, but also feasting's role in the creation of collective and regionally shared forms of identity; namely that associated with the Boiotian koinon. 

Biography

I completed my BA in Ancient History and Archaeology at Cardiff University in 2022, writing my dissertation: From Maidenhood To Motherhood: The Social Dialogue of Marriage in Classical Attic Funerary Sculpture. 

Afterward, I sought to refine my Archaeological skillsets by pursuing an MA in Archaeology, writing my thesis: Creating Navigable Communities in Late Eighth and Seventh Century BC Attica. How were funerary practices and grave goods developed and employed as tools for social negotiation? 

After working for a year in the commercial sector, I am now researching for my PhD in Archaeology, with my thesis being: Building Communities: Communal Commensality and Cult Practice. How and why did practiced communal commensality at sanctuary sites influence the character of community groups in late-eighth – fifth centuries Boiotia?

I have exeperience excavating a plethora of archaeology, from Neolithic and Early Bronze age archaeology in Serbia, Middle Kingdom Egyptian, Mesolithic to Early Modern British sites, and Late Bronze Age to Hellenistic Greek sites. 

Honours and awards

BA in Ancient History and Archaeology - First Class (hons.).

MA in Archaeology - Distinction.

PhD in Archaeology - (underway).

Contact Details

Email HeathA2@cardiff.ac.uk

Campuses John Percival Building, Room Room 2.64, Colum Drive, Cardiff, CF10 3EU

Research themes

Specialisms

  • Greek and Roman archaeology
  • Greek and Roman art
  • Archaeology of Europe, the Mediterranean and the Levant
  • Communal Commensality
  • Morphometric Studies