Dr Victoria Sainsbury

Research profile:

My primary research interests concern the flow of material, particularly glass, in the Roman and Early Medieval period. I also have a strong interest in the history of collections and have collaborated with multiple museums and other institutions on investigations of both copper alloys and glass from many regions and periods. I am especially interested in how the novel interpretation and application of scientific techniques can illuminate complex archaeological questions of sourcing, trading and recycling. 

Much of my work has concerned the nature and complexity of recycling as part of production cycles, regional markets and the impact of imposition and removal of colonial economies. While my solo research has been focused in Britain and on the periods of transition of Roman power, where Roman control and identity is variable, my collaborations span a much wider variety of material. My present projects include studies on the glass from the Roman site of Dorchester-on-Thames, UK, the glass from the Anglo-Saxon site of Lyminge, UK, Roman glass from Late-Antique Roman Spain, glass beads from Medieval Great-Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe, and copper-alloys from Bronze-Age and Iron-Age Hallstatt, Austria.