Associate Professor Lesley Beaumont
Lesley Beaumont is Associate Professor of Archaeology and Chair of the Discipline of Archaeology. She was awarded a BA (Hons) in Ancient History and Archaeology by the University of Birmingham and a PhD in Classical Archaeology by the University of London (UCL). Prior to taking up her position at the University of Sydney, she was Assistant Director of the British School at Athens. Her publications include Childhood in Ancient Athens. Iconography and Social History (Routledge: 2012, 2015), and a Routledge handbook on Children in Antiquity (2021),co-edited with Matthew Dillon and Nicola Harrington. Her current archaeological fieldwork focuses on the Early Iron Age settlement site of Zagora on the Greek island of Andros. She serves as an Executive Board Member and a Council Member of the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens, as a member of the Academic Board of the University of Sydney, and as an Expert Examiner for the Australian Government’s Office for the Arts under the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986.
- Greek archaeology, especially that of Athens, Chios and Ionia, and the northern Cyclades
- Ancient Greek iconography
- The archaeology and social history of children and childhood in Classical antiquity
Dr Beaumont teaches at all levels of the undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum. Units of study include:
- ARCO1001: Civilisations of the Ancient World
- ARCO2007: Ancient Greece
- ARCO2107: Greek and Roman Art and Archaeology
- ARCO3404: Archaeology in the Field
- ARCO4106: Advanced Archaeological Research
- ARCL6902: The Archaeology of Athens
She is also the instigator of a University of Sydney Offshore Program Agreement with College Year at Athens, a tertiary education provider in Greece: together the two institutions offer ARCO2201: Field School in Greece.
Postgraduate supervision of completed and current research students includes: gesture in ancient Greek funerary art, iconography of vegetation in Greek figured vase painting, bath houses in the Athenian Agora, Roman portrait sculpture, household archaeology at Geometric Zagora, Early Iron Age metalworking at Zagora, ancient Greek textiles, the archaeology of religion in the Greek Iron Age, maritime perspectives on the prehistoric and protohistoric Eastern Aegean, Archaic and Classical Chios, the archaeology of childhood, and the ancient Greek body ideal.
Co-Director, Zagora Archaeological Project, Andros, Greece:www.zagoraarchaeologicalproject.org
The Kato Phana Archaeological Project, Chios. This project, now in its final publication phase, focuses on investigation of the Late Bronze Age through Christian cult site located at Kato Phana on the East Greek island of Chios.
In 2023 Dr Beaumont received a Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Commendation for Teaching Excellence.
Dr Beaumont was a recipient in 2010 of Honourable Mention in the University of Sydney Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Excellence in Teaching Awards. She also received a Dean’s commendation for Excellence in Teaching in July 2015.
2005-2006 TBL Webster Fellow, Institute of Classical Studies, University of London.
| Project title | Research student |
|---|---|
| The ancient Greek male body ideal: Form and Meaning | Aristotelis GAZEAS |
| Greek Settlement Development from the Early Bronze Age to the Classical Period (3500-323 B.C.E.) | Amanda MCMANIS |
| Out of the Toybox: Seeing Children Beyond Manufactured Children’s Artefacts in the Context of Australian Historical Archaeology | Amelia O'DONNELL |
Selected publications
(Routledge imprint of Taylor & Francis, 2012)
Publications
Books
- Beaumont, L. (2015). Childhood in Ancient Athens: Iconography and Social History. Oxon, UK: Routledge imprint of Taylor & Francis.
- Beaumont, L. (2012). Childhood in Ancient Athens: Iconography and Social History. Oxon, UK: Routledge imprint of Taylor & Francis. [More Information]
Edited Books
- Beaumont, L., Dillon, M., Harrington, N. (2021). Children in Antiquity: Perspectives and Experiences of Childhood in the Ancient Mediterranean. Abingdon: Routledge. [More Information]
- Beaumont, L., Barker, C., Bollen, E. (2006). Festschrift in Honour of J. Richard Green. Sydney: Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Sydney.
Book Chapters
- Beaumont, L. (2022). The Archaeology and Topography of Greece 1995-1999. In M. Loy, K. Smith & N. Salmon (Eds.), The Archaeology and Topography of Greece. Fifty Years of the British School at Athens Undergraduate Course, (pp. 80-87). Athens: British School at Athens.
- Beaumont, L. (2021). Defining childhood and youth. A regional approach to Archaic and Classical Greece: the case of Athens and Sparta. In L.A. Beaumont, M. Dillon & N. Harrington (Eds.), Children in Antiquity: Perspectives and Experiences of Childhood in the Ancient Mediterranean, (pp. 60-77). Abingdon: Routledge. [More Information]
- Beaumont, L., Dillon, M., Harrington, N. (2021). Introduction: Investigating the ancient Mediterranean 'childscape'. In L.A. Beaumont, M. Dillon & N. Harrington (Eds.), Children in Antiquity: Perspectives and Experiences of Childhood in the Ancient Mediterranean, (pp. 1-8). Abingdon: Routledge. [More Information]
Journals
- Beaumont, L., Donnelly, P., McLoughlin, B., Paspalas, S., Thomas, H. (2022). Zagora Archaeological Project: the 2019 Field Season. Mediterranean Archaeology, 34/35(2021/2022), 131-142.
- Beaumont, L., Donnelly, P., Miller, M., Paspalas, S. (2020). Zagora Archaeological Project: 2019 Season. Bulletin (Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens), 16, 20-21.
- Miller, M., Paspalas, S., Beaumont, L., Mcloughlin, B., Wilson, A. (2020). Zagora Archaeological Project: The 2014 Field Season. Mediterranean Archaeology, 32/33, 217-226.
Conferences
- Beaumont, L. (2003). Changing childhoods? The representation of children in Attic figured vase painting. Griechische Keramik im kulturellen Kontext. Akten des Internationalen Vasen-Symposions in Kiel von 24 bis 28.9.2001 (Scriptorium). National University of Singapore.
Textual Creative Works
- Beaumont, L. (2004). Red-Figure Kalpis-Hydria. Sydney University Museums Newsletter, Sydney, Australia: Sydney University Press.
- Beaumont, L. (2004). The Dipylon Krater. Sydney University Museums Newsletter, Sydney, Australia: Sydney University Press.
- Beaumont, L. (2004). The Nicholson Hermes. Sydney University Museums Newsletter, Sydney, Australia: Sydney University Press.
Scholarly Exhibition
- Beaumont, L., Harrington, N., Richards, C. (2015). Children in Antiquity. Sydney, Australia: Nicholson Museum, Sydney University Museums. [More Information]
- Beaumont, L. (2000). Attic Red-figure Pottery. Chios, Greece: K'ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities.
Magazine / Newspaper Articles
- Beaumont, L. (2018). Archaeology field school in Greece. SOPHI Magazine, 6.
Reference Works
- Beaumont, L. (2013). Chios. In R. Bagnall, K. Brodersen, G. Champion, A. Erskine & S. Huebner (Eds.), Blackwell Encyclopedia of Ancient History. (pp. 1466-1468). West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing.
- Beaumont, L. (2013). Kato Phana on Chios. In R. Bagnall, K. Brodersen, C. Champion, A. Erskine & S Huebner (Eds.), Blackwell Encyclopedia of Ancient History. (pp. 3710-3711). West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing.
- Beaumont, L. (2000). Archaeological Service. In G. Speake (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Greece & the Hellenic Tradition (Volume 1). (pp. 118-120). USA: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers.
Other
- Beaumont, L. (2017), The Future in the Past.
- Beaumont, L. (2004), Catalogue contributions to D.T. Potts & K.N. Sowada, eds. Treasures of the Nicholson Museum, The University of Sydney (Sydney), 80-81, 84-85, 92-93, 108-109.
2022
- Beaumont, L. (2022). The Archaeology and Topography of Greece 1995-1999. In M. Loy, K. Smith & N. Salmon (Eds.), The Archaeology and Topography of Greece. Fifty Years of the British School at Athens Undergraduate Course, (pp. 80-87). Athens: British School at Athens.
- Beaumont, L., Donnelly, P., McLoughlin, B., Paspalas, S., Thomas, H. (2022). Zagora Archaeological Project: the 2019 Field Season. Mediterranean Archaeology, 34/35(2021/2022), 131-142.
2021
- Beaumont, L., Dillon, M., Harrington, N. (2021). Children in Antiquity: Perspectives and Experiences of Childhood in the Ancient Mediterranean. Abingdon: Routledge. [More Information]
- Beaumont, L. (2021). Defining childhood and youth. A regional approach to Archaic and Classical Greece: the case of Athens and Sparta. In L.A. Beaumont, M. Dillon & N. Harrington (Eds.), Children in Antiquity: Perspectives and Experiences of Childhood in the Ancient Mediterranean, (pp. 60-77). Abingdon: Routledge. [More Information]
- Beaumont, L., Dillon, M., Harrington, N. (2021). Introduction: Investigating the ancient Mediterranean 'childscape'. In L.A. Beaumont, M. Dillon & N. Harrington (Eds.), Children in Antiquity: Perspectives and Experiences of Childhood in the Ancient Mediterranean, (pp. 1-8). Abingdon: Routledge. [More Information]
2020
- Beaumont, L., Donnelly, P., Miller, M., Paspalas, S. (2020). Zagora Archaeological Project: 2019 Season. Bulletin (Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens), 16, 20-21.
- Miller, M., Paspalas, S., Beaumont, L., Mcloughlin, B., Wilson, A. (2020). Zagora Archaeological Project: The 2014 Field Season. Mediterranean Archaeology, 32/33, 217-226.
2019
- Beaumont, L. (2019). Shaping the Ancient Religious Landscape at Kato Phana, Chios. In Elena C. Partida and Barbara Schmidt-Dounas (Eds.), Listening to the Stones: Essays on Architecture and Function in Ancient Greek Sanctuaries in Honour of Richard Alan Tomlinson, (pp. 182-190). Oxford: Archaeopress.
- Miller, M., Paspalas, S., Beaumont, L., McLoughlin, B. (2019). Zagora archaeological project: The 2014 field season. Mediterranean Archaeology, 32-33, 217-226.
2018
- Beaumont, L. (2018). Archaeology field school in Greece. SOPHI Magazine, 6.
- Knight, M., Beaumont, L. (2018). Water supply and climate change at Zagora on Andros: New approaches and perspectives on the Early Iron Age Cyclades. In Erica Angliker, John Tully (Eds.), Cycladic Archaeology and Research: New approaches and discoveries, (pp. 59-71). Oxford: Archaeopress. [More Information]
2017
- Beaumont, L. (2017). Review of Sommer (M.) and Sommer (D.) Care, Socialization and Play in Ancient Attica: A Developmental Childhood Archaeological Approach. Journal of Hellenic Studies, 137.
- Beaumont, L. (2017), The Future in the Past.
2016
- Beaumont, L., Miller, M., Paspalas, S. (2016). The Zagora Archaeological Project. In Demetrios I. Polemis (Eds.), History of Andros, (pp. 203-204). Andros: Kaireios Library.
- Beaumont, L., McLoughlin, B., Miller, M., Paspalas, S. (2016). Zagora Archaeological Project: the 2013 Field Season. Mediterranean Archaeology, 27(2014), 115-121.
2015
- Beaumont, L. (2015). Childhood in Ancient Athens: Iconography and Social History. Oxon, UK: Routledge imprint of Taylor & Francis.
- Beaumont, L., Harrington, N., Richards, C. (2015). Children in Antiquity. Sydney, Australia: Nicholson Museum, Sydney University Museums. [More Information]
- Beaumont, L., Miller, M., Paspalas, S. (2015). New Investigations at Zagora (Andros): The Zagora Archaeological Project 2012. Mediterranean Archaeology, 25(2012), 43-66.
2014
- Paspalas, S., Beaumont, L., Miller, M. (2014). Zagora Archaeological Project: 2013 Season. Bulletin (Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens), 10, 12-14.
2013
- Beaumont, L. (2013). Chios. In R. Bagnall, K. Brodersen, G. Champion, A. Erskine & S. Huebner (Eds.), Blackwell Encyclopedia of Ancient History. (pp. 1466-1468). West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing.
- Beaumont, L. (2013). Kato Phana on Chios. In R. Bagnall, K. Brodersen, C. Champion, A. Erskine & S Huebner (Eds.), Blackwell Encyclopedia of Ancient History. (pp. 3710-3711). West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing.
- Beaumont, L. (2013). Shifting Gender: Age and Social Status as Modifiers of Childhood Gender in Ancient Athens. In Judith Evans Grubbs, Tim Parkin, Roslynne Bell (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Childhood and Education in the Classical World, (pp. 195-206). New York, USA: Oxford University Press. [More Information]
2012
- Beaumont, L. (2012). Childhood in Ancient Athens: Iconography and Social History. Oxon, UK: Routledge imprint of Taylor & Francis. [More Information]
2011
- Beaumont, L. (2011). Chios in the "Dark Ages": New Evidence from Kato Phana. In Alexander Mazarakis Ainian (Eds.), The Dark Ages Revisited: Acts of an International Symposium in Memory of William D.E. Coulson, (pp. 221-231). Volos, Greece: University of Thessaly Press.
2007
- Beaumont, L. (2007). Chios: The Kato Phana Archaeological Project. In Justus Corbet; Vokmar von Graeve; Wolf-Deitrich Niemeier; Konrad Zimmermann (Eds.), Frühes Ionien eine Bestandsaufnahme, (pp. 137-148). Berlin: Verlag Phillipp von Zabern GmBH.
- Beaumont, L. (2007). Review of C.O. Pache, Baby and Child Heroes in Ancient Greece. Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 68(4).
2006
- Beaumont, L., Barker, C., Bollen, E. (2006). Festschrift in Honour of J. Richard Green. Sydney: Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Sydney.
2004
- Beaumont, L. (2004), Catalogue contributions to D.T. Potts & K.N. Sowada, eds. Treasures of the Nicholson Museum, The University of Sydney (Sydney), 80-81, 84-85, 92-93, 108-109.
- Beaumont, L. (2004). Erika Simon: Festivals of Attica. An Archaeological Commentary. Journal of Religious History, 28(3), 310-311.
- Beaumont, L., Archontidou-Argyri, A. (2004). Excavations At Kato Phana, Chios: 1999, 2000 And 2001. Annual of the British School at Athens, 99, 201-255.
2003
- Beaumont, L. (2003). Changing childhoods? The representation of children in Attic figured vase painting. Griechische Keramik im kulturellen Kontext. Akten des Internationalen Vasen-Symposions in Kiel von 24 bis 28.9.2001 (Scriptorium). National University of Singapore.
- Beaumont, L., Archontidou-Argyri, A. (2003). Chios Kato Phana (appears as part of 'Archaeology in Greece 2002-2003'). Archaeological Reports (London), 49(2002-2003), 72-72.
- Beaumont, L. (2003). The changing face of childhood. In Jenifer Neils, John H. Oakley (Eds.), Coming of age in ancient Greece : images of childhood from the classical past, (pp. 59-83). New Haven, USA: Yale University Press.
2002
- Beaumont, L., Archontidou-Argyri, A. (2002). Kato Phana 2001-2002 report. Archaeological Reports (London), 2001-2002, 90-91.
2001
- Beaumont, L., Archontidou-Argyri, A. (2001). Kato Phana 2000-2001 report. Archaeological Reports (London), 2000-2001, 112-113.
2000
- Beaumont, L. (2000). Archaeological Service. In G. Speake (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Greece & the Hellenic Tradition (Volume 1). (pp. 118-120). USA: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers.
- Beaumont, L. (2000). Attic Red-figure Pottery. Chios, Greece: K'ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities.
- Beaumont, L. (2000). Chios. In G. Speake (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Greece & the Hellenic Tradition (Volume 1). (pp. 320-323). USA: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers.
1999
- Beaumont, L., Archontidou-Argyri, A. (1999). New work at Kato Phana, Chios: The Kato Phana Archaeological Project, 1997 & 1998. Annual of the British School at Athens, 94, 265-287. [More Information]
1998
- Beaumont, L. (1998). Born old or never young? Femininity, childhood, and the goddesses of ancient Greece. In in S Blundell & M Williamson (Eds.), The Sacred and the Feminine in Ancient Greece, (pp. 71-95). UK: Routledge.
1996
- Beaumont, L. (1996). Constructing a methodology for the interpretation of childhood age in classical Athenian iconography. Archaeological Review From Cambridge, 13(2), 81-96.
1995
- Beaumont, L. (1995). Mythological Childhood: A Male Preserve? An Interpretation of Classical Athenian Iconography in Its Socio-Historical Context. Annual of the British School at Athens, 90, 339-361.
Selected Grants
2024
- New Approaches to Hydrology Tracing in Industry and Archaeology, Beaumont L, DVC Research/External Research Collaboration Seed Funding
2022
- Zagora Archaeological Project partnership with Aargus, Beaumont L, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/FASS External Engagement Fund 2022
Other Internal Grants
2017: member of a team awarded a Chancellor's Committee Grant for the project "New Eyes on Old Objects" to create 3D digital models of artefacts in the Nicholson Museum for teaching first year Archaeology students.
Conference Organisation/Selected Invited and Keynote Papers
July 2024: “Rock of Ages: Childhood and Youth on the Parthenon Frieze’, Mediterranean Archaeology Australasian Research Community Annual Meeting.
April 2022: Invited paper on “Archaeological approaches to studying adolescence in the past”, Society of American Archaeology Annual Conference, Chicago.
2021: “The Zagora Archaeological Project: Report on the 2019 Field Season”, Australasian Society for Classical Studies 42nd Annual Conference.
2020: “New Eyes on Old Objects: photogrammetry as a pedagogical tool for teaching archaeology” paper presentation by L. Beaumont, A. Thoeming & S. Wyatt-Spratt at the CAA Australasia 2020 virtual conference (Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology).
2019: “Children at risk in ancient Greece: the evidence of mythology and iconography”, Society for the History of Children and Youth Tenth Biennial Conference, Australian Catholic University, Sydney.
2017: “Productive economies at Zagora” at the Making Cities: Economies of Production and Urbanisation in Mediterranean Europe 1000-500 BCE conference at the University of Cambridge.
2016: “Defining Childhood and Youth at Athens and Sparta: a Regional Approach”. Public lecture for Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens.
2016: “Water supply and climate change at Zagora” (with M. Knight) at the Negotiating Material Culture conference at the Ancient Cultures Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney.
2015: Organiser of the Children in Antiquity: Perspectives & Experiences of Childhood in the Ancient Mediterranean conference at the University of Sydney.
2014: “Recent Discoveries at Zagora, Andros”. Public lecture (in Modern Greek) at the People’s Theatre, Andros, Greece.
2014: “Dismemberment, decapitation and disposal: narratives of the endangered child in ancient Greece”. Seventh International Conference of the Society for the Study of Childhood in the Past, Melbourne.
2013: “Australia in Andros: archaeological excavation at Zagora”. Public lecture (in Modern Greek) at the People’s Theatre, Andros, Greece.
2012: “A century of archaeological research at Kato Phana, Chios: changing perspectives, approaches and outcomes” at the Greek Ministry of Culture symposium on Chios on One Hundred Years of Archaeological Research in Chios, Greece.
2012: “The perils and potential of archaeological positivism: the case of Zagora” (with M. Miller) at the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens Zagora in Context Conference: Settlements and Intercommunal Links in the Geometric Period.
2007: “Shifting gender indicators: age and social class as modifiers of childhood gender in Classical Athens” at the inaugural conference of the Society for the Study of Childhood in the Past, Magdalen College, Oxford.
2007: “Chios in the ‘Dark Ages’: New Evidence from Kato Phana” at The ‘Dark Ages’: An International Conference. University of Volos, Greece.
2006: Delivered T.B.L. Webster Lecture at Institute of Classical Studies, University of London on “Rock of Ages: Childhood & Youth on the Parthenon Frieze”.
2003: Keynote speaker at conference on Constructions of Childhood in the Ancient World, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, USA.
2001: “Changing Childhoods? The representation of children in Attic figured vase painting” at the International Vase Symposion, Kiel: Greek Ceramics in Cultural Context.
Exhibition Curation
2015: Co-curator (with N. Harrington and C. Richards) of Children in Antiquity: Greece and Egypt exhibition at the Nicholson Museum, University of Sydney:https://sydney.edu.au/museums/collections_search/?record=eevents.332
Academic Referee/Assessor
Annual of the British School at Athens, Hesperia,Journal of Hellenic Studies, Arethusa, Mediterranean Archaeology, Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology, Wiley-Blackwell, Routledge,Scientific Seriesof the Museum of Archaeology at the University of Stavanger (Norway), expert assessor for the Australian Research Council competitive grants programmes. I am also an Advisory Board Member to Mediterranean Archaeology, an Executive Board Member and a Council Member of the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens, and have served as academic assessor for a number of US university tenure review committees.
In the media
"The Art of Digging", radio, ABC Nightlife, 13 May 2017
“The Nicholson Hermes”, Chau Chak Wing Museum Podcast, 22 May 2023