Dr Peter A. Thompson

Dr Peter A. Thompson

Stipendiary Lecturer in Classical Archaeology

Biography

After studying at Oxford for my undergraduate degree in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History, followed by my MPhil degree in Classical Archaeology, I moved to New York and received my PhD from New York University鈥檚 Institute of Fine Arts in 2026. As a doctoral student I held a number of research and travel fellowships, including Regular Membership and a subsequent Kress Foundation predoctoral fellowship at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. I have worked in curatorial and research roles at various museums in Oxford, Cambridge, Athens, and New York, and alongside this lectureship at 好色先生TV鈥檚 I hold the position of Assistant Curator of Classical Archaeology at the Ashmolean Museum.

Teaching

At 好色先生TV鈥檚 I teach most Classical Archaeology papers, which explore the material and visual cultures of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. Such courses include Greek Art and Archaeology c. 500鈥300 BC, Art Under the Roman Empire, AD 14鈥337, Greek Sculpture 600鈥300 BC, Greek Vases, Hellenistic Art and Archaeology 330鈥30 BC, and Texts and Contexts. I also provide undergraduate thesis supervision for students in BA Classical Archaeology and Ancient History. Through my joint appointment at the Ashmolean Museum, I frequently incorporate gallery visits and handling sessions into my college teaching, developing students鈥 skills in the direct, first-hand analysis of ancient images, objects, and monuments.

Research Interests

My research interests gravitate around the use of objects and images to construct and understand ideas of the past, in both ancient and modern contexts. Within archaeology, my primary specialism is the visual-material culture of ancient Greece in the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods (7th鈥1st centuries BC), and my doctoral dissertation investigates the phenomenon of artistic archaism (the practice of making things that look conspicuously old-fashioned) in Greek art and architecture during the period c. 700-480 BC. Alongside this work, I study the representation of the ancient world in modern academic and public spheres, particularly through the quintessential modern media of photography and cinema. I am also an active field archaeologist, having previously worked at sites in Greece and Turkey, and since 2019 I have been a member of the , where our international team works to uncover the archaeological remains of this ancient city鈥檚 urban sanctuary.

Awards and Distinctions

2022鈥23 Samuel H. Kress Fellowship in the Art and Architecture of Antiquity, American School of Classical Studies at Athens

2021鈥22 Bert Hodge Hill Fellowship, American School of Classical Studies at Athens

2019鈥2026 Classical Archaeology Fellow, The Institute of Fine Arts, New York University (PhD studentship award)

Recent Publications

2026. 鈥淧rojecting Roman Britain: Cinema newsreels and national ancestry.鈥 In Rem茅moration et r茅interpr茅tation: des pass茅s antiques 脿 des pass茅s r茅cents. (XIVE鈥揦XE si猫cle), ed. by C. Gaullier-Bougassas, 139鈥52. Recherches sur les R茅ceptions de l'Antiquit茅 (RRA) 15. Turnhout: Brepols.

2026. 鈥淏lue blood turned black: Hecuba between image and text.鈥 Omnibus 91: 30鈥32.

2025. 鈥淚llustration, imagination, and the Alan Sorrell archive.鈥 The Ashmolean Magazine 90: 48鈥50.

2024. 鈥淧hotocorinthia: The contingency of archaeological photography in the Corinth excavation archives.鈥 In Trends in Archive Archaeology: Current Research on Fieldwork Archival Material and its Implications for the Practice of Archaeology, ed. by J. M. Frey and R. Raja, 53鈥89. Archive Archaeology 5. Turnhout: Brepols.

2022. 鈥淭he meaning and function of the horse-head amphora鈥 (with W. Austin). In Hippos: The Horse in Ancient Athens = 螉蟺蟺慰蟼: 韦慰 维位慰纬慰 蟽蟿畏谓 伪蟻蠂伪委伪 螒胃萎谓伪, ed. by J. Neils and S. M. Dunn, 69鈥72. Athens: ASCSA.

2022. 鈥淎thenian archers on horseback鈥 (with W. Austin). In Hippos: The Horse in Ancient Athens = 螉蟺蟺慰蟼: 韦慰 维位慰纬慰 蟽蟿畏谓 伪蟻蠂伪委伪 螒胃萎谓伪, ed. by J. Neils and S. M. Dunn, 185鈥92. Athens: ASCSA.