Richard John Bradley, (born 18 November 1946) is a British archaeologist and academic specialising in European prehistory, particularly Prehistoric Britain. From 1987 to 2013, he was Professor of Archaeology at the University of Reading, where he is now emeritus professor. Bradley has published extensively on European prehistory and prehistoric Britain.
Early life and education
Bradley was born on November 18, 1946 in Hampshire, England. His father was a metallurgist in the British Navy.
He was educated at Portsmouth Grammar School, then an all-boys direct grant grammar school in Portsmouth. It was at school where he first became interested in archaeology. He later went on to study law at Magdalen College, Oxford, and graduated from the University of Oxford with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree; and as per tradition, his BA was later promoted to a Master of Arts (MA Oxon) degree.
Archaeological career
He chose to pursue archaeology rather than law, beginning as an amateur fieldworker and publishing papers in national journals despite having no formal qualifications in the discipline. At 25, he was appointed assistant lecturer at Reading University. Later, he was promoted to Lecturer (1971–1984), Reader (1984–1987), and Professor of Archaeology (1987–2013).
By 1996, British Archaeology magazine described Bradley as one of the most respected archaeologists in his field. He retired from full-time academia in 2013 and was appointed emeritus professor.
Personal life
In 1976, Bradley married Katherine Bowden, a history teacher by profession. They do not have any children.
Honours
Bradley was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA) on January 13, 1977. He became a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences, in 1995. The British Academy awarded him the Grahame Clark Medal in 2006, and the following year he was elected an honorary Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (Hon. FSAScot).
Selected works
Monographs
+ Title Co-author(s) Year Publisher ISBN Mesolithic Assemblage from East Sussex 1972 Phillimore & Co Ltd. The Prehistoric Settlement of Britain 1978 Routledge (London) The Social Foundations of Prehistoric Britain 1984 Longman (Harlow) Passage of Arms: An Archaeological Analysis of Prehistoric Hoards and Votive Deposits 1990 Cambridge University Press (Cambridge) Interpreting the Axe Trade: Production and Exchange in Neolithic Britain Mark Edmonds 1993 Cambridge University Press Altering the Earth: Origins of Monuments in Britain and Continental Europe 1993 Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Rock Art and the Prehistory of Atlantic Europe: Signing the Land 1997 Routledge (London) The Significance of Monuments: On the Shaping of Human Experience in Neolithic and Bronze Age Europe 1998 Routledge (London) Passage of Arms: An Archaeological Analysis of Prehistoric Hoards and Votive Deposits 1998 Oxbow Books An Archaeology of Natural Places 2000 Routledge (London) The Good Stones: A New Investigation of the Clava Cairns Colleen Batey 2000 Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Past in Prehistoric Societies 2002 Routledge (London) Ritual and Domestic Life in Prehistoric Europe 2005 Routledge (Abingdon) The Moon and the Bonfire: An Investigation of Three Stone Circles in NE Scotland Sharon Arrowsmith 2005 Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Prehistory of Britain and Ireland (Cambridge World Archaeology) 2007 Cambridge University Press (New York) Image and Audience: Rethinking Prehistoric Art 2009 Oxford University Press (New York) The Idea of Order: The Circular Archetype in Prehistoric Europe 2012 Oxford University Press (New York) A Geography of Offerings: Deposits of Valuables in the Landscapes of Ancient Europe: 3 (Oxbow Insights in Archaeology) 2016 Oxbow Books A Comparative Study of Rock Art in Later Prehistoric Europe (Elements in the Archaeology of Europe) 2020 Cambridge University Press Temporary Palaces: The Great House in European Prehistory (Oxbow Insights in Archaeology Book 7) 2021 Oxbow Books Maritime Archaeology on Dry Land: Special Sites along the Coasts of Britain and Ireland from the First Farmers to the Atlantic Bronze Age 2022 Oxbow Books Monumental Times: Pasts, Presents, and Futures in the Prehistoric Construction Projects of Northern and Western Europe 2024 Oxbow Books Insularity and Identity: Prehistoric Britain and the Archaeology of Europe (Elements in the Archaeology of Europe) 2025 Cambridge University Press
Edited Volumes
+ Title Co-editor(s) Year Publisher ISBN Sentient Archaeologies: Global Perspectives on Places, Objects and Practice Courtney Nimura, Rebecca O'Sullivan 2023 Oxbow Books
See also Tomnaverie Stone Circle
References