Rate My Professor David Kennedy

A pioneering archaeologist specializing in the Roman Near East, Kennedy's research centers on aerial archaeology, ancient landscape studies, and cultural heritage. In 1978, he founded the Aerial Photographic Archive for Archaeology in the Middle East (APAAME), directing it until 2018 and amassing a vast collection of images documenting archaeological sites across the region. From 1997 to 2018, he led annual aerial reconnaissance over Jordan, identifying thousands of sites including forts, towers, and desert kites using aircraft photography and Google Earth. He directed the Aerial Archaeology projects in Saudi Arabia's AlUla (AAKSAU) and Khaybar (AAKSAK) regions from 2018 to 2020. Other major fieldwork includes leading the Jarash Hinterland Survey (2005-2011) and participating in rescue excavations at Zeugma on the Euphrates (1993-2001). Kennedy taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Roman archaeology and history at UWA, supervising numerous PhD students whose theses are housed in the university repository. His extensive publications include 'Aerial Archaeology in Jordan - 2010', 'Ancient Jordan from the Air' (2004, with Robert Bewley), 'The Roman Army in Jordan' (2004), and the iBook 'Kites in Arabia' (2014, with Rebecca Banks and Penelope Houghton). These works have profoundly influenced studies of Roman provincial frontiers, military installations, and prehistoric structures in the Near East, establishing aerial methods as essential tools in Middle Eastern archaeology. Kennedy has delivered public lectures, such as on his work in war zones, and contributed to editorial roles and committees in the field.