Archive Hub's March feature focuses on the BILNAS (British Institute for Libyan and Northern African Studies) Archive. It houses a historically significant collection of materials (documents, photographs, drawings, maps, and plans), offering a unique glimpse into the archaeology, history, environment, and culture of Libya and the wider Northern African Region from World War II onwards. The archive is located within the School of Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Leicester.
The British Institute for Libyan and Northern African Studies [BILNAS] Archive, University of Leicester.
To mark International Women’s Day, BILNAS is celebrating two influential archaeologists whose important work in North Africa forms part of its archive, Dame Kathleen Kenyon and Lady Olwen Brogan. Kenyon's Sabratha papers are available online through the Archaeology Data Service, and Brogan's papers from Ghirza are slated for future digitization.
Dame Kathleen Kenyon (1906–1978) was a pioneering British archaeologist renowned for her work at Jericho and the Jewry Wall in Leicester. At Sabratha, a key Punic and Roman trading port in Libya, she refined stratigraphic excavation techniques, developing a pottery typology that reconstructed the site's occupational history from Phoenician encampments to a permanent settlement by the fifth century B.C.E. Her commitment to archaeological education, particularly for women, is evident in her mentorship of students at Sabratha, many of whom later joined her at Jericho.
Lady Olwen Brogan (1900–1989) was instrumental in reshaping the study of classical sites in Libya. She supervised excavations at Sabratha, producing well-dated sequences and setting benchmarks for future excavations. Her work at Ghirza in the pre-desert region of Tripolitania provided groundbreaking evidence of Libyan settlements during the Roman Period, challenging prevailing scholarly assumptions. Brogan also played a pivotal role in establishing the Society for Libyan Studies (now BILNAS) in 1969, serving as its first Secretary.