University of Exeter archaeologist awarded OBE in the New Year’s Honours List

A renowned University of Exeter archaeologist has been awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours List for his work over the past 25 years in Bahrain.

Professor Timothy Insoll is an expert in the archaeology of rituals and religions with particular specialism in sub-Saharan Africa, the Arabian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula.

He is Al-Qasimi Professor of African and Islamic Archaeology and founder and director of the University of Exeter’s Centre for Islamic Archaeology in the world-leading Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies. Previously he worked at the University of Manchester and the University of Cambridge.

Professor Insoll has been awarded an OBE for his services to archaeology in Bahrain and UK/Bahraini relations. He said: “I am delighted to be honoured in this way which I also see as recognition for all the effort of my friends and colleagues who have worked with me in Bahrain”.

He is the Honorary Archaeological Advisor to the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain, Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa.

He, Bahraini colleagues, and his research team recently uncovered one of the earliest Christian buildings in the Arabian Gulf in Bahrain – the first physical evidence of a long-lost community there who were followers of the Church of the East, sometimes also called the Nestorian Church. The Nestorian church survived in the region until large-scale conversion to Islam began after the religion was established in 610 CE.

A museum is now being developed to preserve the remarkable site which will open in 2026.

Professor Lisa Roberts, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter, said: “I would like to congratulate Professor Insoll on this richly deserved honour, which recognises his meticulous work to trace the history of the Arabian Gulf and build relations between the UK and Bahrain.”

Professor Insoll’s major specialism is in Islamic archaeology and heritage, and in addition to Bahrain he has led research projects in Mali, Ghana, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia, and completed other field and museum-based projects in Eritrea, India, Spain, Pemba Island, and Uganda.

Professor Insoll is a Fellow of the British Academy, the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Asiatic Society, an Honorary Lecturer at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. and an Honorary Curator of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board.

He has been an advisor to the British Museum, Manchester Museum, and other museums and organisations in the UK, Europe, and the USA.