An online talk by Professor Simon Kaner

In 1901 William Gowland undertook pioneering restoration work at Stonehenge, and his archaeological observations helped shape current understanding of the monument.

Gowland’s work at Stonehenge was greatly informed by his prior work on the burial mounds of ancient Japan. This talk will reassess Gowland’s contribution to archaeology in both England and Japan, setting it in the context of Gowland’s time.

Professor Simon Kaner is Executive Director of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, where he is also Head of the Centre for Archaeology and Heritage. He is concurrently Director of the Centre for Japanese Studies at the University of East Anglia.  He is co-curator of the exhibition 'Circles of Stone: Stonehenge and Prehistoric Japan' at the Stonehenge Visitor Centre.  In 2021 the Sainsbury Institute re-excavated the Arminghall Henge as part of the Later Norfolk Prehistory Project. His other current projects include www.global-britisharchaeology.org and www.naratonorwich.org.