The Department of Classical & Archaeological Studies is delighted to announce that Sophie Vanhoutte has completed her PhD in Classical & Archaeological Studies under the supervision of Dr Stephen Willis. The PhD is entitled ‘Change and Continuity at the Roman Fort at Oudenburg from the late 2nd until the early 5th century AD, with a particular focus on the evidence of the material culture and its significance within the wider context of the Roman North Sea and Channel Frontier zone’.

In the later Roman period, the North Sea region was the scene of seaborne attacks, political crises, army reforms, Germanic invasions and imperial defence strategies. As a consequence, the defence of the shores became increasingly important. However, this history remains little understood.

Sophie’s research contributes to the big questions of later Antiquity in the North-West: what changed when, and what did it mean? The changes had impact on the lives of soldiers and their interaction with other forts and with the region. Sophie’s research explores what was changing on a military level in this frontier region by looking at the material culture and by studying find contexts as reflections of the socio-cultural world.

Our congratulations to Dr Vanoutte.

Interested in postgraduate study at the University of Kent? Find out more about the PhD in Classical & Archaeological Studies.