Dr Susanna Harris
- Senior Lecturer (Archaeology)
telephone:
01413305371
email:
Susanna.Harris@glasgow.ac.uk
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9373-289XResearch interests
My research investigates the material culture of past societies. I specialise in the analysis of textiles and leather using scientific, theoretical and experimental approaches. In summary:
- Artefacts and material culture
- Textile specialist
- Deep history to early medieval
- Northwest Europe and central Mediterranean
- Cloth and clothing
I gained my first degree in archaeology at the University of Durham, Master's and PhD at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. I have held research positions in Italy, Germany and the UK. Since 2008 my research has been funded the British Academy, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, Carnegie Trust for the University of Scotland, and the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
My publications include co-edited volumes ‘Textiles in Ancient Mediterranean Iconography’, ‘Wrapping and Unwrapping Material Culture: Archaeological and Anthropological Approaches’ and ‘Why Leather? The material and cultural dimensions of leather’. I I share my research through academic publications, broadcasts and social media channels such as Youtube.
Current activities
I am co-investigator of the AHRC funded project ‘Unwrapping the Galloway Hoard’, and lead investigator for ‘Fibres and Fabrics from Must Farm Bronze Age Pile-Dwelling’.
Collaborations
I work with museums, commercial archaeology units and government bodies to analyse textiles, basketry and leather from archaeological sites. In practice, my research involves the identification, recording and sampling of artefacts across a wide network of museums and archives in Europe and the Mediterranean.
Articles on the University News pages
- Unearthed Bronze Age textiles shine light on life 3,000 years ago
- Enduring love affair with textiles and fashion goes back 2500 years in the Mediterranean
- Research project to unwrap secrets of the Galloway Hoard
Publications
2025
Harris, S. and Palyvos, A. (2025) Cloth as Human Experience: Looping, Furs and Twining in the Mesolithic of Northwest Europe. In: 17th Archaeological Conference of Central Germany, Halle, Germany, 26-38 Sept 2024, (Accepted for Publication)
Sheridan, A., Harris, S. and Husmo, L. (2025) The Kirtomy hat: an unique Bronze Age horse-hair hat from Sutherland. In: Kilpatrick, Kelly (ed.) Common Ground in Scottish Archaeology: Contributions in Honour of Anna Ritchie. Scottish Society for Northern Studies. (In Press)
Harris, S. , Gleba, M., Meeks, N.D. and Cartwrights, C.R. (2025) Textiles. In: Evans, C., Pollard, J. and Haughton, M. (eds.) A Book of Sites: River Great Ouse Floodplain and Mid-stream Island Investigations at Barleycroft Farm/Over, Cambridgeshire. MacDonald Institute for Archaeological Research: Cambridge. (Accepted for Publication)
2024
Grömer, K., Harris, S. , Gouy, A. and Brøns, C. (2024) A sensory perspective on high-ranked women’s dress of the 8th till 4th century BC in Mediterranean and central Europe. In: Sarri, Kalliope, Droß-Krüpe, Kerstin and Quillien, Louise (eds.) Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, and Culture across Millennia. Zea Books.
Brück, J., Harris, S. , Henderson, J., Sheridan, A. and Uckelm, M. (2024) Material abundance, ordinary life. In: Knight, M., Ballantyne, R., Brudenell, M., Cooper, A., Gibson, D. and Robinson Zeki, I. (eds.) Must Farm pile-dwelling settlement Volume 1. Landscape, architecture and occupation. Series: CAU Must Farm/Flag Fen Basin Depth & Time. McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research: Cambridge. (Accepted for Publication)
Gleba, M., Harris, S. and Malcolm-Davies, J. (2024) Textile analysis in Europe: current practices and future prognosis. In: Mannering, Ulla, Nosch, Marie-Louise and Drewsen, Anne (eds.) The Common Thread: Collected Essays in Honour of Eva Andersson Strand. Brepols: Turnhout, pp. 25-32. ISBN 9782503612775 (doi: 10.1484/M.NAA-EB.5.141752)
2023
Harrison, A., Cartwright, C., Harris, S. , Shearman, F. and Wilkin, N. (2023) Analysis and conservation of a Bronze Age linen textile from Suffolk, UK. Archaeological Textiles Review, 65, pp. 49-63.
Davis, M. and Harris, S. (2023) Textiles in a Viking Age hoard: identifying ephemeral traces of textiles in metal corrosion products. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 48, 103796. (doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103796)
Harris, S. , Houston, F. and Oliver, J. (2023) Textile from the Crannog: analyses and weave experiment of a 2/1 twill weave from Oakbank, Scotland, 400 BCE. Archaeological Textiles Review, 64, pp. 16-27.
2022
Prew, G. and Harris, S. (2022) United Kingdom. In: Ulanowska, Agata, Nosch, Marie-Louise and Nabais, Paula (eds.) EuroWeb National Survey of the European Textile Dress and Fashion Sectors. COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology), pp. 188-197.
Caricola, I. et al. (2022) Organic residue analysis reveals the function of bronze age metal daggers. Scientific Reports, 12, 6101. (doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-09983-3)
Harris, S. , Brøns, C. and Zuchowska, M. (Eds.) (2022) Textiles in Ancient Mediterranean Iconography. Series: Ancient Textiles Series. Oxbow Books: Oxford. ISBN 9781789257212
Brøns, C., Harris, S. and Żuchowska, M. (2022) Introduction: Approaching textiles in ancient Mediterranean iconography. In: Harris, Susanna, Brøns, Cecilie and Zuchowska, Marta (eds.) Textiles in Ancient Mediterranean Iconography. Series: Ancient Textiles Series, 38. Oxbow Books: Oxford, pp. 1-17. ISBN 9781789257212
Harris, S. (2022) Abundance and splendour: textiles of Archaic Greek statues of young women (korai). In: Harris, Susanna, Brøns, Cecilie and Zuchowska, Marta (eds.) Textiles in Ancient Mediterranean Iconography. Series: Ancient Textiles Series, 38. Oxbow Books: Oxford, pp. 59-78. ISBN 9781789257212
Harris, S. and Gleba, M. (2022) Fibres and fabrics. In: Knight, M., Ballantyne, R., Brudenell, M., Cooper, A., Gibson, D. and Robinson Zeki, I. (eds.) The Must Farm Pile-dwelling Settlement. Volume 2: Specialist Reports. Series: CAU Must Farm/Flag Fen Basin Depth & Time. McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research: Cambridge. (Accepted for Publication)
Harris, S. (2022) The value of things: Textiles in the Iron Age. In: Hahn, Hans Peter, Klöckner, Anja and Wicke, Dick (eds.) Values and Revaluations: The Transformation and Genesis of 'Values in Things' from Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives. Oxbow Books: Oxford, pp. 87-105. ISBN 9781789258134
Harris, S. , Gleba, M., Meeks, N. D. and Cartwright, C. R. (2022) Textiles. In: Evans, C., Knight, M. and Pollard, J. (eds.) A Book of Sites: Prehistoric and Palaeoenvironmental Investigations at Barleycroft Farm/Over Cambridgeshire. Series: The Archaeology of the lower Ouse Valley (IV). McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research: Cambridge. (Accepted for Publication)
2021
Dimova, B., Gleba, M. and Harris, S. (2021) Naval power and textile technology: sail production in ancient Greece. World Archaeology, 53(5), pp. 762-778. (doi: 10.1080/00438243.2021.2015428)
2019
Harris, S. (2019) The sensory archaeology of textiles. In: Skeates, Robin and Day, Jo (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Sensory Archaeology. Routledge: Abingdon, pp. 210-232. ISBN 9781138676299
Harris, S. (2019) The challenge of textiles in early bronze age burials: fragments of magnificence. In: Sabatini, Serena and Bergerbrant, Sophie (eds.) The Textile Revolution in Bronze Age Europe. Cambridge University Press, pp. 154-196. ISBN 9781108493598
Gleba, M. and Harris, S. (2019) The first plant bast fibre technology: identifying splicing in archaeological textiles. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 11(5), pp. 2329-2346. (doi: 10.1007/s12520-018-0677-8)
Hopewell, P. and Harris, S. (2019) Blue dyed textiles in Early Iron Age Europe: accessible or exclusive? Archaeological Textiles Review, 61, pp. 24-37.
2017
Harris, S. , Haigh, S., Handley, A. and Sampson, W. (2017) Material choices for fibre in the Neolithic: an approach through the measurement of mechanical properties. Archaeometry, 59(3), pp. 574-591. (doi: 10.1111/arcm.12267)
Harris, S. (2017) From value to desirability: the allure of worldly things. World Archaeology, 49(5), pp. 681-699. (doi: 10.1080/00438243.2017.1413416)
Harris, S. and Jones, A. M. (2017) Beautiful Things: Textiles and Fibre Artefacts from an Early Bronze Age Cremation, Whitehorse Hill, England. In: North European Symposium for Archaeological Textiles: NESAT XIII, Liberec, Czech Republic, 22-26 May 2017, ISBN 9788074943973
2016
Cameron, E., Harris, S. and Mould, Q. (2016) The textile and animal-skin object. In: Jones, Andy M. (ed.) Preserved in the Peat: an Extraordinary Bronze Age Burial on Whitehorse Hill, Dartmoor, and its Wider Context. Oxbow: Oxford, pp. 148-156. ISBN 9781785702600
Harris, S. (2016) The charred textiles from the cremation deposit. In: Jones, Andy M. (ed.) Preserved in the Peat: an Extraordinary Bronze Age Burial on Whitehorse Hill, Dartmoor, and its Wider Context. Oxbow: Oxford, pp. 49-51. ISBN 9781785702600
Melton, N. D., Montgomery, J., Roberts, B. W., Cook, G. and Harris, S. (2016) On the curious date of the Rylstone log-coffin burial. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 82, pp. 383-392. (doi: 10.1017/ppr.2016.5)
Sheridan, A. et al. (2016) The composite braided hair armband or bracelet. In: Jones, Andy M. (ed.) Preserved in the Peat: an Extraordinary Bronze Age Burial on Whitehorse Hill, Dartmoor, and its Wider Context. Oxbow: Oxford, pp. 75-87. ISBN 9781785702600
2015
Harris, S. and Gleba, M. (2015) Bronze Age moss fibre garments from Scotland – the jury’s out. Archaeological Textiles Review(57), pp. 3-11.
Harris, S. (2015) Folded, layered textiles from a Bronze Age pit pyre excavated from Over Barrow 2, Cambridgeshire, England. In: Grömer, Karina and Pritchard, Frances (eds.) Aspects of the design, production and use of textiles and clothing from the Bronze Age to the early modern era : NESAT XII : the North European Symposium of Archaeological Textiles 21st-24th May in Hallstatt, Austria. Series: Archaeolingua Main Series (33). Archaeological Alapítvány: Budapest, pp. 73-82. ISBN 9789639911673
Harris, S. (2015) Flax fibre: innovation and change in the early Neolithic: a technological and material perspective. In: Svenson, A. (ed.) Textile Society of America 2014 Biennial Symposium Proceedings: New Directions: Examining the Past, Creating the Future, Los. University of Nebraska Digital Commons: California, pp. 1-10.
2014
Douny, L. and Harris, S. (2014) Wrapping and unwrapping, concepts and approaches. In: Harris, Susanna and Douny, Laurence (eds.) Wrapping and Unwrapping Material Culture: Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives. Series: Publications of the Institute of Archaeology, University College London (64). Left Coast Press: Walnut Creek, California, pp. 15-40. ISBN 9781611328875
Harris, S. and Douny, L. (Eds.) (2014) Wrapping and Unwrapping Material Culture: Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives. Series: Publications of the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. Left Coast Press: Walnut Creek, California. ISBN 9781611328875
Harris, S. (2014) Sensible dress: the sight, sound, smell and touch of Late Ertebølle Mesolithic cloth types. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 24(1), pp. 37-56. (doi: 10.1017/S0959774314000031)
Harris, S. and Veldmeijer, A. (Eds.) (2014) Why Leather? The Material and Cultural Dimensions of Leather. Sidestone: Leiden. ISBN 9789088902611
Harris, S. (2014) Cloth culture in the Middle Neolithic of northern Italy with special reference to basketry (c.4900-4250 BC). In: Pearce, Mark and Whitehouse, Ruth D. (eds.) Rethinking the Italian Neolithic. Series: Accordia Research Papers, 13 (13). Accordia Research Institute, University of London, pp. 103-130. ISBN 9781873415405
Harris, S. (2014) Introduction: leather in archaeology, between material properties, materiality and technological choices. In: Harris, S. and Veldmeijer, A. (eds.) Why Leather? The Material and Cultural Dimensions of Leather. Sidestone Press: Leiden, pp. 9-21. ISBN 9789088902611
Harris, S. (2014) Wrapping the dead: an investigation of the Bronze Age burial mounds of southern Scandinavia through a wrapping analysis. In: Harris, Susanna and Douny, Laurence (eds.) Wrapping and Unwrapping Material Culture: Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives. Series: Publications of the Institute of Archaeology, University College London (64). Left Coast Press: Walnut Creek, pp. 115-134. ISBN 9781611328875
Harris, S. and Hoffmann, K. P. (2014) From stones to gendered bodies: regional differences in the production of the body and gender on the copper age statue-Menhirs of Northern Italy and the Swiss Valais. European Journal of Archaeology, 17(2), pp. 264-285. (doi: 10.1179/1461957114Y.0000000054)
Lelong, O. et al. (2014) Wrappings of power: a woman's burial in cattle hide at Langwell Farm, Strath Oykel. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 144, pp. 65-131.
2012
2011
Higgitt, C., Harris, S. , Cartwright, C. and Cruickshank, P. (2011) Assessing the potential of historic archaeological collections: a pilot study of the British Museum’s Swiss lake village textiles. British Museum Technical Research Bulletin, 5, pp. 81-94.
2009
Harris, S. , Rösel-Mautendorfer, H., Grömer, K. and Reschreiter, H. (2009) Cloth cultures in prehistoric Europe: the Bronze Age evidence from Hallstatt. Archaeology International, 12, pp. 22-26. (doi: 10.5334/ai.1206)
Harris, S. (2009) Smooth and cool or warm and soft, investigating the properties of cloth in prehistory. In: Andersson Strand, E., Gleba, M., Mannering, U., Munkholt, C. and Ringgaard, M. (eds.) North European Symposium for Archaeological Textiles X. Series: Ancient textiles series (5). Oxbow Books: Oxford, pp. 140-112. ISBN 9781785701566
2008
Harris, S. (2008) Textiles, cloth and skins: the problem of terminology and relationship. Textile, 6(3), pp. 222-237. (doi: 10.2752/175183508X377645)
Harris, S. (2008) Exploring the materiality of prehistoric cloth types. In: Cunningham, Penny, Heeb, Julia and Paardekooper, Roeland (eds.) Experiencing Archaeology by Experiment: Proceedings of the Experimental Archaeology Conference, Exeter 2007. Oxbow: Oxford, pp. 81-102. ISBN 9781842173428
2007
Harris, S. (2007) Investigating social aspects of technical processes: cloth production from plant fibers in a Neolithic lake dwelling on Lake Constance, Germany. In: Beugnier, V. and Crombé, P. (eds.) Plant Processing From A Prehistoric and Ethnographic Perspective. Series: BAR international series (1718). Archaeopress: Oxford, pp. 83-100. ISBN 9781407302010
2003
Harris, S. (2003) Representations of woven textiles in Alpine Europe during the Copper Age. In: Herring, E and Wilkins, J.B. (eds.) Inhabiting Symbols: symbol and image in the ancient Mediterranean. Series: Accordia specialist studies on the Mediterranean (5). Accordia Research Institute, University of London: London, pp. 43-84. ISBN 9781873415252
Articles
Harrison, A., Cartwright, C., Harris, S. , Shearman, F. and Wilkin, N. (2023) Analysis and conservation of a Bronze Age linen textile from Suffolk, UK. Archaeological Textiles Review, 65, pp. 49-63.
Davis, M. and Harris, S. (2023) Textiles in a Viking Age hoard: identifying ephemeral traces of textiles in metal corrosion products. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 48, 103796. (doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103796)
Harris, S. , Houston, F. and Oliver, J. (2023) Textile from the Crannog: analyses and weave experiment of a 2/1 twill weave from Oakbank, Scotland, 400 BCE. Archaeological Textiles Review, 64, pp. 16-27.
Caricola, I. et al. (2022) Organic residue analysis reveals the function of bronze age metal daggers. Scientific Reports, 12, 6101. (doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-09983-3)
Dimova, B., Gleba, M. and Harris, S. (2021) Naval power and textile technology: sail production in ancient Greece. World Archaeology, 53(5), pp. 762-778. (doi: 10.1080/00438243.2021.2015428)
Gleba, M. and Harris, S. (2019) The first plant bast fibre technology: identifying splicing in archaeological textiles. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 11(5), pp. 2329-2346. (doi: 10.1007/s12520-018-0677-8)
Hopewell, P. and Harris, S. (2019) Blue dyed textiles in Early Iron Age Europe: accessible or exclusive? Archaeological Textiles Review, 61, pp. 24-37.
Harris, S. , Haigh, S., Handley, A. and Sampson, W. (2017) Material choices for fibre in the Neolithic: an approach through the measurement of mechanical properties. Archaeometry, 59(3), pp. 574-591. (doi: 10.1111/arcm.12267)
Harris, S. (2017) From value to desirability: the allure of worldly things. World Archaeology, 49(5), pp. 681-699. (doi: 10.1080/00438243.2017.1413416)
Melton, N. D., Montgomery, J., Roberts, B. W., Cook, G. and Harris, S. (2016) On the curious date of the Rylstone log-coffin burial. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 82, pp. 383-392. (doi: 10.1017/ppr.2016.5)
Harris, S. and Gleba, M. (2015) Bronze Age moss fibre garments from Scotland – the jury’s out. Archaeological Textiles Review(57), pp. 3-11.
Harris, S. (2014) Sensible dress: the sight, sound, smell and touch of Late Ertebølle Mesolithic cloth types. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 24(1), pp. 37-56. (doi: 10.1017/S0959774314000031)
Harris, S. and Hoffmann, K. P. (2014) From stones to gendered bodies: regional differences in the production of the body and gender on the copper age statue-Menhirs of Northern Italy and the Swiss Valais. European Journal of Archaeology, 17(2), pp. 264-285. (doi: 10.1179/1461957114Y.0000000054)
Lelong, O. et al. (2014) Wrappings of power: a woman's burial in cattle hide at Langwell Farm, Strath Oykel. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 144, pp. 65-131.
Harris, S. (2012) From the parochial to the universal: comparing cloth cultures in the Bronze Age. European Journal of Archaeology, 15(1), pp. 61-97. (doi: 10.1179/1461957112Y.0000000006)
Higgitt, C., Harris, S. , Cartwright, C. and Cruickshank, P. (2011) Assessing the potential of historic archaeological collections: a pilot study of the British Museum’s Swiss lake village textiles. British Museum Technical Research Bulletin, 5, pp. 81-94.
Harris, S. , Rösel-Mautendorfer, H., Grömer, K. and Reschreiter, H. (2009) Cloth cultures in prehistoric Europe: the Bronze Age evidence from Hallstatt. Archaeology International, 12, pp. 22-26. (doi: 10.5334/ai.1206)
Harris, S. (2008) Textiles, cloth and skins: the problem of terminology and relationship. Textile, 6(3), pp. 222-237. (doi: 10.2752/175183508X377645)
Harris, S. (2006) A report on the examination of animal skin artefacts from the Bronze Age salt mines of Hallstatt, Austria. Papers from the Institute of Archaeology, 17, pp. 69-76. (doi: 10.5334/pia.270)
Harris, S. (2004) I tessuti nelle composizioni monumentali della Valcamonica nell'età del Rame. Bollettino del Centro Camuno di Studi Preistorici, 34, pp. 222-228.
Book Sections
Sheridan, A., Harris, S. and Husmo, L. (2025) The Kirtomy hat: an unique Bronze Age horse-hair hat from Sutherland. In: Kilpatrick, Kelly (ed.) Common Ground in Scottish Archaeology: Contributions in Honour of Anna Ritchie. Scottish Society for Northern Studies. (In Press)
Harris, S. , Gleba, M., Meeks, N.D. and Cartwrights, C.R. (2025) Textiles. In: Evans, C., Pollard, J. and Haughton, M. (eds.) A Book of Sites: River Great Ouse Floodplain and Mid-stream Island Investigations at Barleycroft Farm/Over, Cambridgeshire. MacDonald Institute for Archaeological Research: Cambridge. (Accepted for Publication)
Grömer, K., Harris, S. , Gouy, A. and Brøns, C. (2024) A sensory perspective on high-ranked women’s dress of the 8th till 4th century BC in Mediterranean and central Europe. In: Sarri, Kalliope, Droß-Krüpe, Kerstin and Quillien, Louise (eds.) Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, and Culture across Millennia. Zea Books.
Brück, J., Harris, S. , Henderson, J., Sheridan, A. and Uckelm, M. (2024) Material abundance, ordinary life. In: Knight, M., Ballantyne, R., Brudenell, M., Cooper, A., Gibson, D. and Robinson Zeki, I. (eds.) Must Farm pile-dwelling settlement Volume 1. Landscape, architecture and occupation. Series: CAU Must Farm/Flag Fen Basin Depth & Time. McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research: Cambridge. (Accepted for Publication)
Gleba, M., Harris, S. and Malcolm-Davies, J. (2024) Textile analysis in Europe: current practices and future prognosis. In: Mannering, Ulla, Nosch, Marie-Louise and Drewsen, Anne (eds.) The Common Thread: Collected Essays in Honour of Eva Andersson Strand. Brepols: Turnhout, pp. 25-32. ISBN 9782503612775 (doi: 10.1484/M.NAA-EB.5.141752)
Prew, G. and Harris, S. (2022) United Kingdom. In: Ulanowska, Agata, Nosch, Marie-Louise and Nabais, Paula (eds.) EuroWeb National Survey of the European Textile Dress and Fashion Sectors. COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology), pp. 188-197.
Brøns, C., Harris, S. and Żuchowska, M. (2022) Introduction: Approaching textiles in ancient Mediterranean iconography. In: Harris, Susanna, Brøns, Cecilie and Zuchowska, Marta (eds.) Textiles in Ancient Mediterranean Iconography. Series: Ancient Textiles Series, 38. Oxbow Books: Oxford, pp. 1-17. ISBN 9781789257212
Harris, S. (2022) Abundance and splendour: textiles of Archaic Greek statues of young women (korai). In: Harris, Susanna, Brøns, Cecilie and Zuchowska, Marta (eds.) Textiles in Ancient Mediterranean Iconography. Series: Ancient Textiles Series, 38. Oxbow Books: Oxford, pp. 59-78. ISBN 9781789257212
Harris, S. and Gleba, M. (2022) Fibres and fabrics. In: Knight, M., Ballantyne, R., Brudenell, M., Cooper, A., Gibson, D. and Robinson Zeki, I. (eds.) The Must Farm Pile-dwelling Settlement. Volume 2: Specialist Reports. Series: CAU Must Farm/Flag Fen Basin Depth & Time. McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research: Cambridge. (Accepted for Publication)
Harris, S. (2022) The value of things: Textiles in the Iron Age. In: Hahn, Hans Peter, Klöckner, Anja and Wicke, Dick (eds.) Values and Revaluations: The Transformation and Genesis of 'Values in Things' from Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives. Oxbow Books: Oxford, pp. 87-105. ISBN 9781789258134
Harris, S. , Gleba, M., Meeks, N. D. and Cartwright, C. R. (2022) Textiles. In: Evans, C., Knight, M. and Pollard, J. (eds.) A Book of Sites: Prehistoric and Palaeoenvironmental Investigations at Barleycroft Farm/Over Cambridgeshire. Series: The Archaeology of the lower Ouse Valley (IV). McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research: Cambridge. (Accepted for Publication)
Harris, S. (2019) The sensory archaeology of textiles. In: Skeates, Robin and Day, Jo (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Sensory Archaeology. Routledge: Abingdon, pp. 210-232. ISBN 9781138676299
Harris, S. (2019) The challenge of textiles in early bronze age burials: fragments of magnificence. In: Sabatini, Serena and Bergerbrant, Sophie (eds.) The Textile Revolution in Bronze Age Europe. Cambridge University Press, pp. 154-196. ISBN 9781108493598
Cameron, E., Harris, S. and Mould, Q. (2016) The textile and animal-skin object. In: Jones, Andy M. (ed.) Preserved in the Peat: an Extraordinary Bronze Age Burial on Whitehorse Hill, Dartmoor, and its Wider Context. Oxbow: Oxford, pp. 148-156. ISBN 9781785702600
Harris, S. (2016) The charred textiles from the cremation deposit. In: Jones, Andy M. (ed.) Preserved in the Peat: an Extraordinary Bronze Age Burial on Whitehorse Hill, Dartmoor, and its Wider Context. Oxbow: Oxford, pp. 49-51. ISBN 9781785702600
Sheridan, A. et al. (2016) The composite braided hair armband or bracelet. In: Jones, Andy M. (ed.) Preserved in the Peat: an Extraordinary Bronze Age Burial on Whitehorse Hill, Dartmoor, and its Wider Context. Oxbow: Oxford, pp. 75-87. ISBN 9781785702600
Harris, S. (2015) Folded, layered textiles from a Bronze Age pit pyre excavated from Over Barrow 2, Cambridgeshire, England. In: Grömer, Karina and Pritchard, Frances (eds.) Aspects of the design, production and use of textiles and clothing from the Bronze Age to the early modern era : NESAT XII : the North European Symposium of Archaeological Textiles 21st-24th May in Hallstatt, Austria. Series: Archaeolingua Main Series (33). Archaeological Alapítvány: Budapest, pp. 73-82. ISBN 9789639911673
Harris, S. (2015) Flax fibre: innovation and change in the early Neolithic: a technological and material perspective. In: Svenson, A. (ed.) Textile Society of America 2014 Biennial Symposium Proceedings: New Directions: Examining the Past, Creating the Future, Los. University of Nebraska Digital Commons: California, pp. 1-10.
Douny, L. and Harris, S. (2014) Wrapping and unwrapping, concepts and approaches. In: Harris, Susanna and Douny, Laurence (eds.) Wrapping and Unwrapping Material Culture: Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives. Series: Publications of the Institute of Archaeology, University College London (64). Left Coast Press: Walnut Creek, California, pp. 15-40. ISBN 9781611328875
Harris, S. (2014) Cloth culture in the Middle Neolithic of northern Italy with special reference to basketry (c.4900-4250 BC). In: Pearce, Mark and Whitehouse, Ruth D. (eds.) Rethinking the Italian Neolithic. Series: Accordia Research Papers, 13 (13). Accordia Research Institute, University of London, pp. 103-130. ISBN 9781873415405
Harris, S. (2014) Introduction: leather in archaeology, between material properties, materiality and technological choices. In: Harris, S. and Veldmeijer, A. (eds.) Why Leather? The Material and Cultural Dimensions of Leather. Sidestone Press: Leiden, pp. 9-21. ISBN 9789088902611
Harris, S. (2014) Wrapping the dead: an investigation of the Bronze Age burial mounds of southern Scandinavia through a wrapping analysis. In: Harris, Susanna and Douny, Laurence (eds.) Wrapping and Unwrapping Material Culture: Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives. Series: Publications of the Institute of Archaeology, University College London (64). Left Coast Press: Walnut Creek, pp. 115-134. ISBN 9781611328875
Harris, S. (2009) Smooth and cool or warm and soft, investigating the properties of cloth in prehistory. In: Andersson Strand, E., Gleba, M., Mannering, U., Munkholt, C. and Ringgaard, M. (eds.) North European Symposium for Archaeological Textiles X. Series: Ancient textiles series (5). Oxbow Books: Oxford, pp. 140-112. ISBN 9781785701566
Harris, S. (2008) Exploring the materiality of prehistoric cloth types. In: Cunningham, Penny, Heeb, Julia and Paardekooper, Roeland (eds.) Experiencing Archaeology by Experiment: Proceedings of the Experimental Archaeology Conference, Exeter 2007. Oxbow: Oxford, pp. 81-102. ISBN 9781842173428
Harris, S. (2007) Investigating social aspects of technical processes: cloth production from plant fibers in a Neolithic lake dwelling on Lake Constance, Germany. In: Beugnier, V. and Crombé, P. (eds.) Plant Processing From A Prehistoric and Ethnographic Perspective. Series: BAR international series (1718). Archaeopress: Oxford, pp. 83-100. ISBN 9781407302010
Harris, S. (2003) Representations of woven textiles in Alpine Europe during the Copper Age. In: Herring, E and Wilkins, J.B. (eds.) Inhabiting Symbols: symbol and image in the ancient Mediterranean. Series: Accordia specialist studies on the Mediterranean (5). Accordia Research Institute, University of London: London, pp. 43-84. ISBN 9781873415252
Harris, S. Preparing skins in prehistory: a review of evidence and approaches. In: Thomson, Roy and Mould, Quita (eds.) Leather tanneries: the archaeological evidence. Archetype Press for the Archaeological Leather Group: London, pp. 57-67. ISBN 9781904982616
Edited Books
Harris, S. , Brøns, C. and Zuchowska, M. (Eds.) (2022) Textiles in Ancient Mediterranean Iconography. Series: Ancient Textiles Series. Oxbow Books: Oxford. ISBN 9781789257212
Harris, S. and Douny, L. (Eds.) (2014) Wrapping and Unwrapping Material Culture: Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives. Series: Publications of the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. Left Coast Press: Walnut Creek, California. ISBN 9781611328875
Harris, S. and Veldmeijer, A. (Eds.) (2014) Why Leather? The Material and Cultural Dimensions of Leather. Sidestone: Leiden. ISBN 9789088902611
Conference Proceedings
Harris, S. and Palyvos, A. (2025) Cloth as Human Experience: Looping, Furs and Twining in the Mesolithic of Northwest Europe. In: 17th Archaeological Conference of Central Germany, Halle, Germany, 26-38 Sept 2024, (Accepted for Publication)
Harris, S. and Jones, A. M. (2017) Beautiful Things: Textiles and Fibre Artefacts from an Early Bronze Age Cremation, Whitehorse Hill, England. In: North European Symposium for Archaeological Textiles: NESAT XIII, Liberec, Czech Republic, 22-26 May 2017, ISBN 9788074943973
Grants
- 2021-2024 Unwrapping the Galloway Hoard, Arts and Humanities Research Council, Co-investigator with National Museums Scotland
- 2018 Looking inside the past: CT scanning ancient textiles, Centre for Scottish and Celtic Studies, Major Research Grant
- 2017-2018 Micro-Tracing British Bronze Age textiles (2200-900 BC), Carnegie Research Incentive Grant.
- 2015 The Representation of Clothing on Iron Age Situla Art, Vienna National History Museum, Synthesys award.
- 2008-2011 Cloth Cultures of Prehistoric Europe, British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship.
- 2009 Wrapping and Unwrapping the Body – Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives, UCL Institute of Archaeology Conference Competition.
- 2008-2009 Cloth Cultures of Europe and Egypt in the Middle to Late Bronze Age, Alwyn Cotton Research Fellowship.
Supervision
I welcome enquiries to supervise research students with interests in:
- Archaeological Textiles
- Dress and Clothing
- Experimental Archaeology
- Archaeological Material Culture
I currently supervise:
- Bertoli, Maria Elena
The fibre revolution in Bronze Age northern Italy: investigating textile economies in transition from plant fibres to wool - Bexultanova, Gayana
Use of plants for food, medicine and technology during the Upper Palaeolithic in Siberia. - Bibi, Bushra
The Origins of String: Fibre Technologies in the Palaeolithic. - Loudon, Nysa Noelle
The Ecology, Materials, and Aesthetics of Unusual Fibres
Teaching
Undergraduate
- Archaeology in the Modern World
- 20 Things that Changed the World
- Cloth and Clothing (optional course)
- Assembling the Artefacts (optional course)
- Archaeological Digital Imaging (optional course)
- Archaeology Dissertation
Post Graduate
- Process of Artefact Studies
- Cloth and Clothing (optional course)
- Archaeological Digital Imaging (optional course)
- Re/Assembling the Artefacts
- Independent Study Project
- Research and Professional Skills
Additional information
