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David Kennedy | |
|---|---|
| Born | David Leslie Kennedy (1948-04-25)25 April 1948 (age 77) |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom andAustralia |
| Alma mater | University of Manchester;University of Oxford |
| Known for | Archaeology and history of the Roman Near East, Aerial Archaeology of theMiddle East, Roman military studies, Kite studies |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Archaeology History |
| Institutions | University of Sheffield;Boston University;University of Western Australia |
David Leslie Kennedy (born 25 April 1948) is anarchaeologist andhistorian of theRoman Near East, with a focus onAerial Archaeology, Roman landscape studies and the Roman military. He is Emeritus Professor and Senior Honorary Research Fellow in Roman Archaeology and History at theUniversity of Western Australia.
David Kennedy's research focus is on the Roman Near East, with an emphasis onJordan. His interests encapsulate Roman landscape studies, military studies, as well as Roman infrastructure in theNear East.
Kennedy established (1978) and directed (until 2018) the Aerial Photographic Archive for Archaeology in the Middle East (APAAME), a project designed to investigate, document and photograph archaeological sites throughout this region usingremote sensing.[1] This includes historical imagery and mapping, satellite imagery and aerial photography. The project is designed both to develop a methodology suited to the region and to illuminate settlement history in theNear East.
Between 1997 and 2018 Kennedy conducted annual aerial reconnaissance overJordan as part of the Aerial Archaeology inJordan project, the first – and until recently, only such programme in the Middle East. The project digitises and makes use of international collections, as well as increasing availability of satellite imagery through programs such asGoogle Earth andBing in order to conduct wider surveys of the region. A brief video made by Google for its 'Search' series has been published onYouTube which explains the development of this process.
For two years from January 2018 to 2020 he was Director of the Aerial Archaeology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (AlUla) (AAKSAU) and Aerial Archaeology in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Khaybar) (AAKSAK) projects. His other projects have included theJarash Hinterland Survey with Fiona Baker (2005–2011), a rescue project at the Classical city ofZeugma on the Euphrates (1993–2001) and currently the Aerial Photographic Archive for Archaeology in the Middle East.
David Kennedy's work on aerial photography and satellite surveys has also resulted in part of his research being directed towards more ancient archaeological remains in theNear East, such asDesert Kites. Kennedy has been working on making research more accessible by publishing in iBook format, the first of which is the ibook which was made available oniTunes.[2] In February 2016 an article titled was published onLiveScience which showcases some of the recent activity in this research area undertaken by David Kennedy and his team.
