Kimberly Bowes

Kim specializes in Roman archaeology. Her first two books and early career focused on the archaeology of the later Roman Empire, particularly the ways in which elite households responded to new Christian hierarchies and the way that houses are - or are not - a useful mirror of social practice. Her more recent work deliberately leaves elites aside and addresses the material experience of non-elites, particularly the poor. Together with Cam Grey and an international team she started the Roman Peasant Project in 2009 to better understand the lives of rural peasants in central Italy. As part of that work she has developed interests in economic history, Roman landscapes and the history of poverty. Kim was the Mellon Professor and the 22nd director of the American Academy in Rome.