David Peacock (archaeologist)

David Peacock
Born	(1939-01-14)14 January 1939
Died	15 March 2015(2015-03-15) (aged 76)
Occupations	Classical archaeologist Archaeological scientist
Awards	Kenyon Medal (2011)
Academic background
Education	Stamford School University of St Andrews
Academic work
Institutions	University of Birmingham University of Southampton
Notable students	Michael Fulford Richard Hodges Roberta Tomber

David Philip Spencer Peacock (14 January 1939 – 15 March 2015) was a British archaeologist. Educated at Stamford School and at the University of St Andrews, he spent most of his career at the University of Southampton, where he specialised in the scientific study of Roman pottery.

Peacock worked on the site of Carthage, alongside Michael Fulford, in the 1970s, where he developed techniques of studying pottery which became widely adopted in other Mediterranean excavations. Towards the end of the decade, he carried out ethnographic survey work on North African potteries, which formed the basis of an influential typology of ceramic production sites, and established principles of categorising ceramics that were widely adopted in British archaeology. From the late 1980s, he worked on Roman Egypt, directing a survey of the quarry at Mons Claudianus and co-directing the survey and excavation of Mons Porphyrites. He also proved the location of the Roman Red Sea port of Myos Hormos and mapped the ports of Adulis and Gabeza.

Peacock has been credited with establishing the discipline of ceramic petrography in Britain.^[1] He was awarded the Kenyon Medal for classical studies by the British Academy in 2011. An obituary in Times Higher Education called him "one of the most innovative archaeologists of his generation".^[2]