Dr Sahal Abdi
- College Post-Doctoral Associate, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research
Contact
About
I completed my undergraduate degree in Archaeology and Ancient History in 2018 at the University of Leicester. I later went on to complete my Master’s in Archaeology again at the University of Leicester in 2019. I also completed my PhD at the University of Leicester in 2023 with my PhD thesis titled: ‘Creating Rural Communities: Imperialism, Processualism and Ontogenesis in Southern Roman Britain’.
I am currently the Black Heritage Research Fellow at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and a Fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge.
Research
My research focuses principally on the impact of Roman imperialism on all social relations within and beyond the borders of the Roman Empire. This includes investigating the impact of Roman imperialism on the political economy, social relations and ritual activities that were undertaken across the provinces of the Roman Empire. I am also interested in the ways in which local communities responded
to the changes brought about by imperialism in the colonies in which the Romans conquered, especially on the frontiers and borders of the Empire, how they created new personal and group identities, and how they sought to conceptualise these dramatic changes. I am also interested in archaeological theory and its uses and application in Roman archaeology and history.
I am currently investigating the impact of Roman imperialism on the Roman North African frontier and borders, investigating both the Roman and local responses to imperialism in the region.