MA (Aberdeen), MA (UCL), PhD (Reading), FSAScot
Personal Chair
- About
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- Email Address
- g.noble@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 272333
- Office Address
Department of Archaeology University of Aberdeen St. Mary's, Elphinstone Road Aberdeen AB24 3UF Scotland Room No. 203
- School/Department
- School of Geosciences
Biography
Professor Gordon Noble has undertaken award-winning landscape research and field projects working on projects from the Mesolithic to Medieval periods. He has two major current projects, Northern Picts, funded by the University of Aberdeen Development Trust and Historic Environment Scotland, is focused on the post-Roman societies of northern Britain. The second, Comparative Kingship, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, is examining the early royal landscapes of Ireland and Scotland. Research for the Northern Picts and Comparitive Kingship projects won Research Project of the Year 2021 in the Current Archaeology Awards, the leading UK archaeology awards programme.
Public engagement is a big part of his research with Northern Picts having featured in numerous exhibitions and on BBC 2 'Digging for Britain', National Geographic, Radio 4 'In Our Time' and many other media venues.
Gordon was appointed as lecturer to the department at Aberdeen in July 2008. In 2012 he became Senior Lecturer, Head of Department in 2015, Reader in 2017 and Professor in 2019. He is also a Honorary Curatorial Fellow to the University Museums.
Latest book:
"the best overview of this fascinating people to date: clear, essential, and revelatory reading" -- Professor Neil Price
"the Northern Picts project, led by Gordon Noble...has been truly revolutionary" -- Archaeological Journal
“This book is a triumph. It marks a milestone in Pictish studies, and will be the starting place for all those interested in the Picts...It marks a step-change in, perhaps even a coming of age for, Pictish studies.” -- Pictish Arts Society
"Picts is an extraordinary work that covers seven centuries of Pictish history and archaeology"-- Current Archaology
"Noble and Evans have written a book to read and cherish"-- The Scotsman
https://birlinn.co.uk/product/picts/
A short interview with Prof G!
Qualifications
- History of Art First Class Honours2000 - University of Aberdeen
- Masters Archaeology2001 - University College London
- PhD Archaeology2004 - University of Reading
- Pg Cert Teaching2007 - University of Glasgow
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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- Research Theme Leader
- Honorary Curatorial Fellow to University Museums
- External Memberships
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2013-16 External Examiner, Department of Archaeology, University of Reading
2017-21 External Examiner, Department of Archaeology, University of Newcastle
2018-22 External Examiner, Department of Archaeology, University of Edinburgh
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2015 External panel member for undergraduate teaching programme review, University of Edinburgh
- Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (elected fellow 2006; Council member 2009-12)
- Reviewer (Journals):
Antiquity, World Archaeology, European Journal of Archaeology, Cambridge Archaeological Journal, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Journal of Maritime Archaeology, The Scottish Archaeological Journal, Papers from the Institute of Archaeology University College London, Journal of Irish Archaeology, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology
- Reviewer (Grants):
Arts and Humanities Research Council; Leverhulme Trust; Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland; National Geographic; Riksbanken Sweden; Nordic Research Council
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Televison Work
- Digging for Britain; BBC2 - digs led by Gordon have appeared on four different series' of this popular BBC2 programme
- Lost Cities with Albert Lin; Disney Channel
- Landward; BBC
- Scotland from the Sky; BBC Scotland
- Ancient Murders Unearthed; Sky History TV Channel
- Mystic Britain: Lost Tribe of Scotland; Smithsonian Channel
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Latest Publications
Life, Death and Environment at Lagore Crannog: parasites, land-use and a royal residence in later prehistoric and early medieval Ireland
Journal of Archaeological ScienceContributions to Journals: ArticlesLes "âges obscurs" des Pictes sous un nouvel éclairage: Shedding new light on the Picts of ‘Dark Age’ Scotland
L’Archéologue, vol. 170, pp. 46-53Contributions to Journals: ArticlesFlavours of Pictish Life: Using Starch Grains and Phytoliths to Trace Late Roman and Early Medieval Culinary Traditions.
Journal of Archaeological Science: ReportsContributions to Journals: ArticlesThe role of geoarchaeology in the interpretation of fragmented buildings and occupation surfaces: The case of coastal settlements in northeast Scotland
Geoarchaeology-An International Journal, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 238-267Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21990
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/23231/1/Reid_etal_GAI_The_Role_Of_VoR.pdf
Defining the Sanctissimus: The Early Medieval Church Enclosures of Pictland
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. 153Contributions to Journals: Articles
Prizes and Awards
Research Project of the Year 2021 Current Archaeology Awards
Leverhulme Leadership Award (2016–22)
Outstanding Research Award Individuals Further Stage of Career – Non Stem, University of Aberdeen 2021
Principal’s Prize for Public Engagement Senior Award 2016
Arts and Humanities Research Council Early Career Fellow. Ritual and remembrance at the third millennium BC prehistoric monument complex at Forteviot, central Scotland. AHRC Award AH/I02657X/1 2012
British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow 2005–8
- Research
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Research Overview
Prehistoric and early medieval Europe with particular interests in: Scotland, Ireland, Sweden & Denmark
Research Areas
Accepting PhDs
I am currently accepting PhDs in Archaeology.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.
Research Specialisms
- Archaeology
- Environmental Geoscience
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
Current Research
Comparative Kingship 2017-
The nature of the societies and social, ideological and political frameworks that filled the chasm left by the demise of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD – both within and beyond the Empire’s boundaries – is one of the most contentious debates about late- and post- Roman Europe. This project adopts an innovative interdisciplinary focus that tackles the formation of the socio-political landscapes of Northern Britain and Ireland, utilizing archaeological, historical, toponymic and palaeoenvironmental methodologies along with Bayesian-modelled chronologies, to create a new synthesis of the dramatic changes that ultimately led to the formation of the state societies that existed beyond the edges of the Roman Empire.
Funding: Leverhulme Trust Leadership Award
Northern Picts 2012-
Northern Picts is a project that aims to uncover the archaeological traces of Pictish society in northern Scotland. The project to date has had some spectacular successes. We have begun to uncover a major and undocumented Pictish royal centre at Rhynie and discovered a significant portion of a major Pictish silver hoard at Gaulcross. We have scaled sea cliffs to discover forgotten Pictish forts and centres of power. Find out more here.
Funding: University of Aberdeen Development Trust (private donation) and Historic Envrionment Scotland (PI)
Project partners: Tarbat Discovery Centre, National Museums of Scotland, University of Chester, University of Glasgow, Inverness Museum & Art Gallery, Rhynie Woman, CMS Archaeology, Forestry Commission Scotland, Aberdeenshire Council, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Mainz
Bennachie Landscapes Project 2012-
North-east Scotland contains landscapes of world-leading importance for history, archaeology and community heritage. This project focuses on building heritage-based partnerships and involves an interdisciplinary community-centred research project concentrating on the past, present and future significance of one of north-east Scotland's most celebrated cultural and physical landmarks: the hill of Bennachie and its environs.
Funding: AHRC Development Grant (PI)
Project partners: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Bailies of Bennachie, Aberdeenshire Council, Forestry Commission
Woodland in the Neolithic of Northern Europe: The Forest as Ancestor.
A book length study of the social role of trees and woodlands in prehistory with case studies from Britain and Ireland and South Scandinavia. Incorporating environmental, anthropological and archaeological approaches, this study aims to formulate new approaches to the study of past landscapes. The final book is published by Cambridge University Press.
Funding: British Academy (PI)
Supervision
My current supervision areas are: Archaeology.
Accepting PhDs, particularly on the following subjects:
- Early Medieval Archaeology
- Prehistoric Archaeology
- Field Excavation and Survey
Funding and Grants
In the course of my career Professor Noble has led on successful research grants totalling over £2.5 million, £2.25 of which has been raised while at Aberdeen (2008-21).
Recent major grants:
- 2021-2024 Principal-Investigator, 'The Citadel Project: Rescue- and Research-led Excavations at an Early Medieval Power Centre'; Historic Environment Scotland (£257,431)
- 2017-2022 Principal-Investigator, 'Comparative Kingship: the early medieval kingdoms of Northern Britain and Ireland'; Leverhulme Trust (£971,149)
- 2012-2022 Principal-Investigator, ‘Northern Picts: ’, University of Aberdeen Development Trust; Historic Environment Scotland (£351,249)
- Teaching
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Programmes
- Undergraduate, 4 year, September start
- Undergraduate, 4 year, September start
- MSc ArchaeologyPostgraduate, 3 semester, January start
Teaching Responsibilities
Course co-ordinator of undergraduate modules:
- AY3009 Scottish Archaeology
- AY3010 Professional Archaeology I
- AY3011 Archaeological Fieldwork Portfolio
Additional teaching on a range of other modules including Archaeology of the North, Advanced Archaeological Practice, Archaeologies of Social Life and Landscape Archaeology
- Publications
Page 1 of 11 Results 1 to 10 of 103
Life, Death and Environment at Lagore Crannog: parasites, land-use and a royal residence in later prehistoric and early medieval Ireland
Journal of Archaeological ScienceContributions to Journals: ArticlesLes "âges obscurs" des Pictes sous un nouvel éclairage: Shedding new light on the Picts of ‘Dark Age’ Scotland
L’Archéologue, vol. 170, pp. 46-53Contributions to Journals: ArticlesFlavours of Pictish Life: Using Starch Grains and Phytoliths to Trace Late Roman and Early Medieval Culinary Traditions.
Journal of Archaeological Science: ReportsContributions to Journals: ArticlesThe role of geoarchaeology in the interpretation of fragmented buildings and occupation surfaces: The case of coastal settlements in northeast Scotland
Geoarchaeology-An International Journal, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 238-267Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21990
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/23231/1/Reid_etal_GAI_The_Role_Of_VoR.pdf
Defining the Sanctissimus: The Early Medieval Church Enclosures of Pictland
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. 153Contributions to Journals: ArticlesBuilding Isolation and Connection, tracing monastic use of crannogs in medieval Scotland
Islands, Monasteries and Water. Tubingen University PressChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)A new chronology for the Welsh hillfort of Dinas Powys
Antiquity, vol. 97, no. 396, pp. 1548 - 1563Contributions to Journals: ArticlesRadiocarbon dating of human remains from Navan Fort: their implications for understanding the wider ceremonial complex
Journal of Irish Archaeology, vol. 32, pp. 53-69Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] Journal webpages
New zooarchaeological evidence from Pictish sites in Scotland: implications for early medieval economies and animal-human relationships
Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, vol. 2, 1208908Contributions to Journals: ArticlesImputed genomes and haplotype-based analyses of the Picts of early medieval Scotland reveal fine-scale relatedness between Iron Age, early medieval and the modern people of the UK
PLoS Genetics, vol. 19, no. 4, e1010360Contributions to Journals: Articles