Dr Martin Huggon

Martin Huggon is a Lecturer in Archaeology and Heritage, particularly specialised in field archaeology and medieval archaeology. After spending 5 years in commercial archaeology he gained his PhD at the University of Sheffield, researching the archaeology of medieval hospitals in England and Wales, after which he began teaching archaeology at Bishop Grosseteste from 2017 onwards, initially as a Visiting and then Associate Tutor, before being made a lecturer in 2020. He is also editor of the journal Church Archaeology.

His current research interests are focused upon the archaeology of later medieval religion, in particular monasteries, hospitals, friaries, and nunneries. Associated with this is a current research project on the military orders in the British Isles and Ireland, with the aim of carrying out field survey and excavation on sites across Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. He is also writing up excavations at Sulgrave Castle, one of the important Five Castle sites from across England.

Contact Dr Martin Huggon


Related Courses

Introduction to Archaeology: Concepts and Methods

Living and Dying in Medieval Europe

Field Archaeology: People, Place and Practice

Archaeological Field School

Material Culture in Archaeology: Theory and Practice

Research Skills

Martin’s research focuses on the archaeology of medieval religion, particularly in the British Isles and Ireland. Particular strands include medieval hospitals (the focus of his PhD thesis) and expanding this into studies on the military orders, especially the Knights Hospitaller and the Templar Knights.

He is also working on older excavations to bring their archives to publication. His current project is the Sulgrave Castle excavations, and Anglo-Saxon hall site replaced by a Norman motte and bailey castle.

He is also particularly interested in the application of practical and technical approaches to archaeology, especially archaeological survey and excavation. He is also interested in the representation and use of archaeology in video games.

Book chapters

Huggon, M. (2018). The English medieval hospital: a complex issue. In D. Berryman and S. Kerr (eds) Buildings of Medieval Europe: Studies in Social and Landscape Contexts. Oxford: Oxbow, pp. 61-81

Huggon, M. (2018). Medieval medicine, public health, and the medieval hospital. In C. Gerrard and A. Gutierrez (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Late Medieval Archaeology in Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 836-855 (DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198744719.001.0001)

Book reviews

Huggon, M. (2019). Review: The Medieval Priory and Hospital of St Mary Spital and the Bishopsgate Suburb: Excavations at Spitalfields Market, London E1, 1991—2007, by Chiz Harward, Nick Holder, Christopher Phillpotts and Christopher Thomas. London and Middlesex Archaeological Society Transactions 70, 286-287

Huggon, M. (2019). Review: Crusader Archaeology: The Material Culture of the Latin East (2nd Edition), by Adrian Boas. Church Archaeology 19, 96-97

Huggon. M. (2017). Review: Archaeology and Architecture of the Military Orders: New Studies, by M. Piana and C. Carlsson (eds). Assemblage 15, 82-85

Editor for Church Archaeology, the journal of the Society for Church Archaeology

Public lectures on the archaeology of medieval religious institutions in the British Isles and Ireland