Hereford-based archaeologist and co-convenor of the Collaboratory, Dr Keith Ray, has joined the School of History, Archaeology and Religion at Cardiff University, with effect from 1st January 2019. Keith has been awarded the title of Honorary Professor of Archaeology in recognition of his several-decades-long professional involvement in archaeology.

Keith’s career has spanned academic and research posts in Cambridge, Nsukka (Nigeria) and Lampeter, as well as archaeology in English local government in Oxfordshire, Plymouth and, latterly, for over 15 years as County Archaeologist in Herefordshire (to 2014). In recent years, he has worked part-time as an archaeological consultant. He has otherwise devoted his time to research and writing, and to voluntary archaeological and historical endeavours (Honorary Secretary of the Herefordshire Victoria County History Trust; Recorder for Archaeology at the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club, Hereford).

Regarding the linear earthworks and landscapes of the Anglo-Welsh borderlands, Professor Ray is author of The Archaeology of Herefordshire: an Exploration (Logastan Press, 2015) and has lead authored the first modern comprehensive book on Offa’s Dyke, considering in detail its design, placement and landscape context: Offa’s Dyke: Landscape and Hegemony in Eighth Century Britain (Windgather, 2016, with Ian Bapty). Keith’s latest book, written jointly with Professor Julian Thomas, is Neolithic Britain: The Transformation of Social Worlds (Oxford University Press, 2018).

At Cardiff, Keith aims to build upon the distinguished tradition of studies in Neolithic and in Iron Age Britain at that institution, as well as to further explore the history and archaeology of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia’s frontier with Wales through his research and outreach initiatives.