Dr. Zena Kamash is a British-Iraqi archaeologist and senior visiting research fellow at King’s College, University of London. She is also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and Deputy Editor of the European Journal of Archaeology. She earned her DPhil in Roman Archaeology from the University of Oxford and specializes in the archaeology and heritage of Roman Britain and the Middle East. Currently, she is leading a project with the British Academy that focuses on finding an evidence-based link between cultural heritage through art and personal and social well-being. In addition to her position at the University of London, Zena is a prolific author. Her recent publications include Crafting, heritage and well-being: Lessons from two public engagement projects (2019), Rebalancing Roman Archaeology: From disciplinary inertia to decolonial and inclusive action (2021), and Healing in Syria and Iraq (2024) published by the Manchester University Press. Zena has recently been named the Working Classicist of the Year for 2025, in recognition of her anticolonial work in the field of Roman Archaeology and commitment to descendent and source communities in the preservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
Listen in, as Dr. Kamash speaks about the politics of archaeology and the importance of cultural heritage for community well-being and healing during times of conflict.
Interested in more information? Check out these publications from Dr. Kamash.
Kamash, Z. 2024. Heritage and Healing in Syria and Iraq. Manchester University Press.
Kamash, Z. 2023. “Who Can Access the Past? Archives, Technological Solutionism and Digital Colonialism in (Post-)conflict Syria.” In Shaping Archaeological Archives: Dialogues Between Fieldwork, Museum Collections, and Private Archives, edited by Rubina Raja, 9–18. Brepols.
Kamash, Z. 2021. “Rebalancing Roman Archaeology: From Disciplinary Inertia to Decolonial and Inclusive Action.” Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal, 4(1): 1–41.
Kamash, Z. 2019. “On Well-Being, Activism and Ethical Practice: Response to Trentin, Lisa. Sharing Histories: Teaching and Learning from Displaced Youth in Greece.” 8(3): 1–4.
Kamash, Z. 2019. Crafting, Heritage and Well-being: Lessons from Two Public Engagement Projects. In Historic Landscapes and Mental Well-being, edited by T. Darrell, K. Barrass, L. Drysdale, V. Heaslip, and Y. Staelens, 266–279. Archaeopress.
Baird, J. A., Z. Kamash, and R. Raja. 2023. “Knowing Palmyra: Mandatory Production of Archaeological Knowledge.” Journal of Social Archaeology 23(1): 76–98.
Baird, J.A., and Z. Kamash. 2019. “Remembering Roman Syria: Valuing Tadmor-Palmyra, from ‘Discovery’ to Destruction.” Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies 62(1): 1–29.
Kamash, Z., H. Abd el-Gawad, P. Banks, A. Bell, F. Charteris, S. Ekdawi, Z. Glen, J. Howe, A. Laidlaw, M. Mitchell, A. Nafde, A. Parkin, F. Wilson, L.T. Wilson, and A. Wood. 2017. “Remembering the Romans in the Middle East and North Africa: Memories and Reflections from a Museum-based Public Engagement Project.” Epoiesen 1, 69–89.
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Academic Publications
Apaydin, V. 2020. “The Interlinkage of Cultural Memory, Heritage and Discourses of Construction, Transformation and Destruction.” In Critical Perspectives on Cultural Memory and Heritage: Construction, Transformation and Destruction, edited by V. Apaydin, 13–30. UCL Press.
Gallien, C., and كلير جاليان. “A Decolonial Turn in the Humanities – المنعطف ﺍﻟﻤﻘﻮﱢﺽ للاستعمار في الإنسانيات.” Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics 40 (2020): 28–58.
Gardner, A. 2013. “Thinking about Roman Imperialism: Postcolonialism, Globalisation and Beyond?” Britannia 44: 1–25.
Sandis, C. 2014. “Culture, Heritage, and Ethics.” In Cultural Heritage Ethics: Between Theory and Practice, edited by C. Sandis, 1st ed., 11–20. Open Book Publishers.
Open Access Resources
CHeWI Project. “CHeWI Project: Crafting Heritage for Wellbeing in Iraq.” CHeWI Project.
“Crafting Heritage for Well-Being in Iraq.” The British Academy.
Kamash, Z. 2018. “‘Felt an Iraqi Object’ Workshops, Cheney School – Gallery.” Not All Archaeologists Have Beards.
Kamash, Z. 2018. “Rematerialising Mosul Museum.” Institute of Classical Studies.
Kamash, Z. 2017. “Remembering the Romans in the Middle East and North Africa.”
Kamash, Z. 2018. “Rematerialising Mosul’s Textile History.” Ruya Foundation.
“Tadmor-Palmyra: Reconstruction and Digitisation, with Zena Kamash.” 2022. Khameleon Classics.
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