Alison Betts

Alison Venetia Graham Betts FSA FAHA is a Scottish archaeologist and academic, who specialises in the "archaeology of the lands along the Silk Roads" and the nomadic peoples of the Near East.^[1] Since 2012, she has been Professor of Silk Road Studies at the University of Sydney.^[1][2]

Early life and education[]

Betts was born and raised in Scotland.^[3] She is the daughter of Ursula Graham Bower, an anthropologist, and Frederick Nicholson Betts, an army officer and ornithologist, and has a sister, Catriona. She studied at the Institute of Archaeology, University of London, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree, a Master of Arts (MA) degree, and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree.^[4] Her doctoral thesis was submitted in 1986 and was titled "The prehistory of the basalt desert, Transjordan: an analysis".^[5]

Academic career[]

In 1986, Betts joined the University of Edinburgh as a British Academy Teaching Fellow. In 1989, she moved to the Queen's University, Belfast, where she worked as a research fellow. In 1991, she was appointed a lecturer in Levantine archaeology at the University of Sydney.^[4] By 2010, she had been promoted to senior lecturer.^[3] In 2012, she was appointed Professor of Silk Road Studies.^[1][2]

Betts has excavated in the Near East and in Central Asia, including directing excavations in Eastern Jordan, in Uzbekistan, and in Xinjiang, China.^[2][3] Her research is mainly focused on the Bronze Age, archaeology of the Levant, archaeology of the Silk Roads, and nomadic pastoralism of the Near East.^[4][1]

In August 2016, Betts gave that year's Petrie Oration on "Kingship and the Gods in Ancient Khorezm: new light on the early history of Zoroastrianism";^[6] the Petrie Oration is an "annual public lecture sponsored by the on ancient world archaeology".^[7]

Honours[]

In 2010, Betts was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities (FAHA), the top learned academy in Australia for the humanities.^[4] On 13 October 2016, she was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA).^[8]

Selected works[]

• Khozhaniyazou, G.; Helms, S.; Betts, A. (2006). The military architecture of ancient Chorasmia. Paris: De Boccard. ISBN 978-2701801964.
• Betts, A. V. G.; Cropper, D.; Martin, L.; McCartney, C. (2013). The Later Prehistory of the Badia: Excavations and Surveys in Eastern Jordan. Oxford: Oxbow Books. ISBN 978-1842174739.
• Betts, A.; Kidd, F., eds. (2015). Buddhist Iconography of Northern Bactria. New Delhi: Manohar Publications. ISBN 978-9350980972.

References[]