Project role
I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow focusing on the archaeological and material evidence for medieval lived religion as part of The Medieval Ritual Landscape project (MeRit). I will be investigating both published and unpublished data from excavations alongside metal-detected data recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
Background
I am based at the Department of Archaeology at the University of Reading, and live in the South West.
My background is in working with archaeological small finds, particularly those found through metal-detecting and recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS). I joined the PAS in 2005 and have since worked as Finds Liaison Officer in Hampshire, in Somerset and in Devon. Between 2014 and 2019 I was a project officer for ‘PASt Explorers’, where I helped train volunteers and establish guidance on finds recording. A medievalist by training, my main expertise is in metalwork of the period c. 1000-1700. I developed my knowledge of late early-medieval material when I returned to university as a mature student in 2012, proceeding to complete a PhD on this topic at the University of York. I have specific experience of medieval equestrian equipment through my role as Postdoctoral Research Fellow on the University of Exeter’s ‘Warhorse’ project. More generally, I sit on the committee of the Finds Research Group, and, closer to home, edit the journal of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society.
Education and training
PhD in Archaeology, University of York, 2020
MA in Archaeological Heritage Management, University of York, 2004
BA (Hons) in History with French, Durham University, 2002
Areas of interest
- Early-medieval, medieval and post-medieval archaeology.
- Medieval material culture, especially religious and equestrian metal artefacts.
- Archaeological research using material recorded through metal-detecting.
- Continental connections, as examined through small finds.
- Archaeologies of status.
Research projects
- Warhorse – The Archaeology of a Military Revolution? 2019-23.
- Archaeologies of the Norman Conquest 2016-18.
Selected publications
Burnett, L. and Webley, R. (forthcoming, 2024) 50 Post-Medieval and Modern Finds from the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Stroud: Amberley Publishing.
Webley, R. (2022) New adventures in 11th-century horse equipment. In D. Boughton and K. Hawkins (eds.) Back in the Bag: Essays exploring artefacts in honour of David Wynn Williams, 78-89. Woking: SpoilHeap.
Webley, R. (2022) New finds of Romanesque Bronze Bowls and their reuse. Medieval Archaeology 65(2): 384-387.
Prosser, L. and Webley, R. (2021) Two medieval pilgrim badges attributed to St Margaret, Queen of Scotland. Tayside and Fife Archaeological Journal 27: 45-56.
Ameen, C., Baker, G.P., Benkert, H., Vo Van Qui, C., Webley, R., Liddiard, R. Outram, A.K., and Creighton, O.H. (2021) Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Medieval Warhorse. Cheiron 1(1): 100-119.
Webley, R. (2021) The enigmatic ‘octopus mount’ and the characterisation of elite medieval sites. In C. Léger and S. Raux (eds.), Mélanges offerts à Michel Feugère, 907-914. Drémil-Lafage: Éditions Mergoil.
Webley, R. (2020) Appliques en « B » : réexamen d’un objet médiéval énigmatique interprété comme une garniture de mors de bride. Cahiers LandArc 38.
Thuaudet, O. with Webley, R. (2019) Interrogating the Diffusion of Metal Artefacts: A Case Study of a Type of Medieval Copper-Alloy Buckle. Medieval Archaeology 63(2): 375-402.
Webley, R. (2017) Analyse et interprétation des appliques en alliage cuivreux dites «binding strips » des XIIe -XIIIe siècles en Europe de l’Ouest. Cahiers LandArc 19.