Derek Kennet
Howard E. Hallengren Professor of Arabian Peninsula and Gulf States Archaeology
Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, West Asia and North Africa; Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations; and the College
Derek Kennet is an archaeologist whose work approaches the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding regions from several perspectives, including longue durée regional archaeology, the archaeology of the Late Antique period, the rise of Islam and the Islamic periods, human economic strategies in semi- to hyper-arid environments, and interaction between the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding regions. He has conducted archaeological fieldwork throughout the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, and Europe, and has also directed research projects in India and China.
His most recent co-authored books include Excavations at Paithan, Maharashtra: Transformations in Early Historic and Early Medieval India (de Gruyter, 2020) and Sasanian and Islamic Settlement and Ceramics in Southern Iran (4th to 17th Century AD): The Williamson Collection Project (Oxbow Books, 2023).
Kennet earned a BA with honors in archaeology and a PhD in Oriental and African studies from the University of London. Most recently, he was a professor in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Durham in England.