St John Simpson

Senior Curator and Archaeologist, Department of th, The British Museum

St John Simpson is a senior curator and Assistant Keeper in the Department of the Middle East at the British Museum where he is responsible for the collections from ancient Iran, Arabia and Central Asia, with Museum-wide responsibility for liaison with law enforcement agencies over the identification and repatriation of trafficked antiquities. He has curated three major special exhibitions: Queen of Sheba: Treasures from Ancient Yemen (2002), Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World (2011), and Scythians: Warriors of Ancient Siberia (2017/18), as well as countless small displays and the permanent Rahim Irvani Gallery for Ancient Iran (2007). His most recent books are Masters of the Steppe: The Impact of the Scythians and Later Nomad Societies of Eurasia (2020), In Context: the Reade Festschrift (2020), Sasanian Archaeology: Settlements, Environment and Material Culture (2022), and ‘To Aleppo gone ...’: Essays in honour of Jonathan N. Tubb (2023), all published with Archaeopress.

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BOOKS BY THIS CONTRIBUTOR

Gold, Silver and Glass: Power Networks, Cultural Identities, Technology Transfers and Agency across the Old World (7th Century BC - 1st Century AD)

ed. St John Simpson

This volume explores how precious materials shaped power, identity and cultural exchange in the ancient world from the 7th century BC to early Roman times. Growing out of the British Museum special exhibition Luxury and Power: Persia to Greece, it brings together new perspectives on technology, value and artistic interaction from Greece to China. READ MORE

Hardback: £80.00 | eBook: £16.00

‘To Aleppo gone …’: Essays in honour of Jonathan N. Tubb

ed. St John Simpson

A festschrift in honour of Jonathan Tubb, former Levant curator and Keeper of the Department of the Middle East at the British Museum. 44 contributions reflect Jonathan’s career and professional interests with a focus on the Jordan Valley and southern Levant, but also north Syria, Mesopotamia, and the protection of endangered cultural heritage. READ MORE

Paperback: £45.00 | eBook: £16.00

Sasanian Archaeology: Settlements, Environment and Material Culture

ed. St John Simpson

This collection of essays offers an examination of the Sasanian empire based almost entirely on archaeological and scientific research, much presented here for the first time. The book is divided into three parts examining Sasanian sites, settlements and landscapes; their complex agricultural resources; and their crafts and industries. READ MORE

Paperback: £75.00 | eBook: £16.00

Masters of the Steppe: The Impact of the Scythians and Later Nomad Societies of Eurasia

ed. St John Simpson

This book presents 45 papers presented at a major international conference held at the British Museum during the 2017 BP exhibition 'Scythians: warriors of ancient Siberia'. Papers include new archaeological discoveries, results of scientific research and studies of museum collections, most presented in English for the first time. READ MORE

Paperback: £80.00 | eBook: £16.00

In Context: the Reade Festschrift

ed. St John Simpson

'In Context: the Reade Festschrift' is a collection of invited and peer-reviewed essays by friends and colleagues of Julian Edgeworth Reade, sometime Mesopotamia curator at the British Museum from 1975 to 2000. Here is fresh work from which any reader can gain a new appreciation of the importance of the ancient Near East. READ MORE

Paperback: £60.00 | eBook: £16.00

Softstone: Approaches to the study of chlorite and calcite vessels in the Middle East and Central Asia from prehistory to the present

ed. St John Simpson

Stone containers have been made and used in the Middle East for over eleven millennia where they pre-dated the invention of pottery. This is the first attempt to bring together different approaches to the study of softstone vessels, particularly those carved from varieties of chlorite, and covering all periods from prehistory to the present. READ MORE

Paperback: £45.00 | eBook: £16.00

Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies Volume 38 2008

ed. St John Simpson

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 2007. READ MORE

Paperback: £49.00

Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies Volume 37 2007

ed. St John Simpson

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 2006. READ MORE

Paperback: £47.00

Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies Volume 36 2006

ed. St John Simpson

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 2005. READ MORE

Paperback: £45.00

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