Gordon Noble

Professor Gordon Noble is a Personal Chair in Archaeology at the University of Aberdeen's School of Geosciences. He leads major projects like Northern Picts (focused on post-Roman societies in northern Britain) and the Comparative Kingship project (examining early medieval royal landscapes of Ireland and Scotland). His work has been recognized with awards such as the Current Archaeology Awards' Research Project of the Year 2021 and a Leverhulme Leadership Award (2016–22).

Education: MA (History of Art) from the University of Aberdeen (2000), MA (Archaeology) from University College London (2001), PhD (Archaeology) from the University of Reading (2004), and a PgCert in Teaching from the University of Glasgow (2007). He has held roles including Lecturer (2008), Senior Lecturer (2012), Head of Department (2015), and Reader (2017) before becoming Professor in 2019.

Research focuses on prehistoric to early medieval Europe, with specializations in Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, and Denmark. Key interests include Pictish society, fortified settlements, and interdisciplinary methods combining archaeology, environmental science, and historical analysis. Public engagement includes BBC documentaries (Digging for Britain), National Geographic features, and radio appearances on BBC Radio 4's In Our Time.

Grants and funding exceed £2.5 million, including £971,149 from the Leverhulme Trust for the Comparative Kingship project. Ongoing projects include the Bennachie Landscapes Project and collaborations with institutions like the National Museums of Scotland and the Max Planck Institute.

Scientific awards highlight his contributions to understanding Pictish society and early medieval landscapes. Media work extends to Disney+'s Lost Cities with Albert Lin and History Channel documentaries. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and serves on editorial boards for journals like Antiquity and European Journal of Archaeology.