Timothy Insoll

Timothy Insoll
Insoll in Bahrain, November 2021
Born1967 (age 56–57)
NationalityBritish
OccupationArchaeologist
Known forExcavation and research in sub-Saharan Africa and Bahrain
Academic background
Alma mater
ThesisIslam, archaeology and history, a complex relationship: the Gao Region (Mali) ca.AD 900–1250 (1995)
Academic work
DisciplineArchaeology
Sub-discipline
  • Archaeology of religions and rituals
  • Archaeology of Islam in Africa
  • African indigenous religions
Institutions

Timothy Insoll FSA FBA (born 1967) is a British archaeologist and Africanist and Islamic Studies scholar. Since 2016 he has been Al-Qasimi Professor of African and Islamic Archaeology at the University of Exeter. He is also founder and director of the Centre for Islamic Archaeology.[1] Previously he was at the Department of Archaeology at the University of Manchester (1999–2016).[2]

His primary research specialism is in the archaeology of Islam and indigenous religions in sub-Saharan Africa.[2] His research has focused on the archaeological indicators of Islam, as well as indigenous beliefs associated with concepts such as ancestral veneration and sacrifice. He has engaged with STEM approaches throughout his research, and works closely with historical, ethnographic, and epigraphic materials. He has particular interests in the archaeological analysis of beads and bead materials.

He has curated several exhibitions and worked on theoretical approaches to the archaeological study of rituals and religions. He has also led research projects in Mali, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Bahrain, and completed other field and museum-based projects in Eritrea, India, Pemba Island, and Uganda.

  1. ^ "Centre for Islamic Archaeology". socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk. University of Exeter. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  2. ^ a b "Professor Timothy Insoll". socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk. University of Exeter. Retrieved 13 December 2021.