M. Barbara Reeves

Dr. M. Barbara Reeves is an Associate Professor in the Department of Classics & Archaeology at Queen's University, affiliated with the Faculty of Arts and Science. She specializes in Roman archaeology with a focus on the Near East, particularly in Jordan's Hisma desert. Her research explores cultural interactions between Roman soldiers and indigenous communities, religious practices, and material culture like ceramic building materials and petroglyphs.

Her work centers on the archaeological site of Humayma (ancient Hawara/Hauarra), where she directs excavations examining Nabataean, Roman, and Byzantine urban design. Key projects include the Humayma Excavation Project, which investigates military-civilian relations, religious shrines, and landscape archaeology. She has also revitalized the Queen's Museum of Near Eastern Archaeology digitally.

Dr. Reeves' publications emphasize methodological innovations such as photogrammetry for rock art documentation and re-evaluating site plans through aerial surveys. Her research highlights how material culture reveals socio-political dynamics, like syncretism in religious practices and adaptive responses to desert environments.