Dr Mike Hodder BA, PhD, MCIfA

Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology
Honorary Lecturer in Archaeology

Contact details

Email
m.a.hodder@bham.ac.uk

I am an archaeologist with particular interests in the archaeology of all periods of the West Midlands region, the interaction of the historic and natural environments, and the physical management and public interpretation of sites and landscapes.

Qualifications

  • BA (Hons) Ancient History and Archaeology (Birmingham, 1979)
  • PhD: The development of settlement and land use in Sutton Chase (Birmingham, 1988)

Biography

My background is in field archaeology, which included the excavation of Sandwell Priory and study of its surrounding landscape, followed by a career as a local authority archaeologist for nearly 30 years, first at Sandwell Council then as Planning Archaeologist at Birmingham City Council. In Birmingham I was responsible for the management of archaeological sites in the city centre and suburbs through the planning process, including sites within major developments such as the Bull Ring and the New QE Hospital, and maintenance of the Historic Environment Record. I have been involved in the investigation of sites of all periods including prehistoric burnt mounds, Roman forts, medieval settlements and churches, and industrial remains, and in the interaction of the historic and natural environments in the past and as part of present landscape management. I have taken an active role in the West Midlands Archaeological Research Framework, including presentation of seminar papers, publication of papers and editing one of the period volumes. In addition to active voluntary involvement with several archaeological and other organisations responsible for publication, site management and interpretation in the region I have undertaken some consultancy work.

Research

  • Compilation of period overviews and synthesises for Birmingham and its surroundings as part of the West Midlands Archaeological Research Framework, and co-editing the Roman period volume.
  • An archaeological assessment of churches in the Diocese of Birmingham (completed in 2015)
  • Compilation of a report on the hitherto unpublished excavation of a medieval motte and bailey castle at Castle Bromwich, which also included significant Roman and post-medieval phases.
  • Research to bring reports of past excavations in Lichfield (medieval town) and Acton Trussell (Roman villa) to publication.
  • Research to contribute to public interpretation of Wall Roman site.
  • Continuing fieldwork in Sutton Park to identify and record earthwork remains of various periods to contribute to their protection, management and public interpretation.

Other activities

  • Archaeologist member of Birmingham Diocesan Advisory Committee
  • Committee member of Council for British Archaeology West Midlands
  • Trustee and Honorary Vice-President of Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society
  • Trustee of Staffordshire Archaeological and Historical Society and member of its editorial advisory group
  • Member of West Midlands Historic Environment Forum and Birmingham Heritage Strategy Group
  • Member of Sutton Park Advisory Committee, Sutton Park Heritage Partnership Agreement team, and President of Friends of Sutton Park Association
  • Specialist Academic Advisor, Cotswold Archaeology

Publications

Books

  • Trueman, I, Poulton, M, Phipps, S, Large, L, Hancock, S, and Hodder, M,  2023, Flora of Sutton Park
  • Hodder, M, and Whitehouse, S. 2019  Walk Birmingham. Birmingham Museums Trust
  • White, R. and Hodder, M. eds 2018. Clash of Cultures? The Romano-British period in the West Midlands. The Making of the West Midlands Vol 3. Oxbow Books 
  • Hodder, M, 2013. The Archaeology of Sutton Park. The History Press. Updated and reprinted 2020
  • Hodder, M. 2004/2011. Birmingham: the hidden history. Stroud, Tempus Publishing (2004): updated and reprinted 2011, The History Press)

Chapters in books

  • Hodder, M, 2022 “Archaeology”, in A Foster, N Pevsner and A Wedgwood, Birmingham and the Black Country (The buildings of England), London, Yale University Press, 6-10
  • Hodder, M. 2018 Forts, farms, fields and industries: the Roman period in West Midlands county, in White, R. and Hodder, M. eds 2018. Clash of Cultures? The Romano-British period in the West Midlands. The Making of the West Midlands Vol 3. Oxbow Books 
  • White, R,  and Hodder, M, 2018. The archaeology of the Romano-British West Midlands: overview and research priorities, in White, R. and Hodder, M. eds 2018. Clash of Cultures? The Romano-British period in the West Midlands. The Making of the West Midlands Vol 3. Oxbow Books 
  • Hodder, M. 2017. “Burnt mounds and beyond: the later prehistory of Birmingham and the Black Country”, in D Hurst ed, Westward on the high-hilled plains: the later prehistory of the west midlands. The Making of the West Midlands Vol 2. Oxbow Books, 29-36
  • Hodder, M. 2016. “Before Beorma: Prehistoric and Roman Birmingham”, in C Chinn and M Dick eds, Birmingham, the workshop of the world, Liverpool, Liverpool University Press, 51-71
  • Hodder, M. 2011. Curatorial practice, in S Watt (ed), The Archaeology of the West Midlands, a framework for research. Oxford, Oxbow Books (2011), 247-252
  • Hodder, M 2009. The Bull Ring excavations and Archaeology in Birmingham City Centre: an overview, in C Patrick and S Ratkai, The Bull Ring Uncovered: Excavations at Edgbaston Street, Moor Street, Park Street and The Row, Birmingham, 1997-2001, Oxbow Books, xvii-xix
  • Hodder, M, Patrick, C Ratkai, S. 2009.  Discussion, in C Patrick and S Ratkai, The Bull Ring Uncovered: Excavations at Edgbaston Street, Moor Street, Park Street and The Row, Birmingham, 1997-2001. Oxbow Books (2009), 305-319
  • Hodder, M. 2006. Overview: Excavations in St Martin’s churchyard and the archaeology of burial grounds in Birmingham, in M Brickley and S Buteux, St Martins Uncovered: Investigations in the churchyard of St Martin’s–in-the-Bull Ring, Birmingham, 2001, Oxbow Books, xv- xvii
  • Hodder, M and Barfield, L, 2003.  Bronze Age burnt mounds in Britain and Ireland: Interpretation and reconstruction as sweat baths”, in M C Frère-Sautot (ed) Le feu domestique et ses structures au Néolithique et aux Âges des métaux. Montagnac, France, Éditions Monique Mergoil, 59-65

Articles

  • Hunt, J, and Hodder, M,  2018 “Staffordshire’s past in fifty volumes: a Microcosm of British archaeology”, Transactions of the Staffordshire Archaeological and Historical Society 50, 10-25
  • Hodder, M, forthcoming, Castle Bromwich motte and bailey castle: excavations by W J Ford, 1969-70, Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society
  • Hodder, M and Jones, T. 2016. Birmingham’s rural fringe: an archaeological survey of the Green Belt in Sutton Coldfield, 1994-99, Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society 119, 63-83
  • Evans, C, Hodder, M and Booth, P. 2014. A Romano-British pottery kiln at Sherifoot Lane, Sutton Coldfield, Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society 117, 1-32
  • Barfield, L and Hodder, M. 2011. Burnt mounds in South Birmingham: excavations at Cob Lane in 1980 and 1981, and other investigations, Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society 114, 13-46

Magazine and short articles

  • Hodder, M, 2021 “The archaeology of Sutton Park”, British Archaeology 176, 38-43
  • Hodder, M, 2019 “Axehead, Sandwell Valley”, in M Dick, D Everleigh and J Sullivan eds, The Black Country. A History in 100 objects, Black Country Living Museum, Publications, 28-29
  • The Smethwick and Ashted Engines, History West Midlands Vol 3 Issue 3 (2015), 24-25
  • Sutton Park: A medieval landscape, History West Midlands Vol 3 Issue 1 (2015), 28-29
  • Hidden Underground. Birmingham’s Glass Industry, History West Midlands Vol 2 Issue 1(2014), 32-33
  • (with M Smith and A Howard) Birmingham’s oldest inhabitants: a newly discovered Palaeolithic axe from Sutton Coldfield, Past (The Newsletter of the Prehistoric Society), 66, Nov 2010, 6-7

Web publication