David Oates

Edward Ernest David Michael Oates, (25 February 1927 – 22 March 2004), known as David Oates, was a British archaeologist and academic specializing in the Ancient Near East. He was director of the excavations at Nimrud from 1958 to 1962, Tell al-Rimah from 1964 to 1971 and at Tell Brak from 1976 to 2004. He was Professor of Western Asiatic Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology from 1969 to 1982 and Fellow of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research from 1997 to 2004.

Early life Oates was born on 25 February 1927 in Stoke Climsland, Cornwall, England. He was educated at Callington County School, a state secondary school in Callington, Cornwall, and Oundle School, a private boarding school in Oundle, Northamptonshire. He studied classics and archaeology at Trinity College, Cambridge and graduated in 1949 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree.

Academic career In 1951, Oates returned to his alma mater, Trinity College, Cambridge, as a research fellow. In 1954, he was sent to Iraq by the British Academy to review the work of Sir Aurel Stein.

From 1964 to 1971, he led excavations at Tell al-Rimah in northern Iraq. From 1965 to 1969, he was Director of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq and lived in Baghdad with his family. In 1974, he was elected Fellow of the British Academy (FBA).

In 2002, he was honoured with a Festschrift:

Selected works