Staff profile

My research focuses on the role played by ritual and religion (broadly defined!) in the construction of provincial society and identity in the Roman Empire, in particular Britain, Gaul, and Germany. My previous work focused on the Roman sanctuary at Bath and my first book, The Sanctuary at Bath in the Roman Empire, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2020. My current research explores the dynamics of religion and society on Hadrian's Wall and the Romano-British frontier, with a particular emphasis on the site of Roman and Medieval Bewcastle in northern Cumbria. I also have active research interests in Roman epigraphy, Roman provincial art, and in 18^th and 19^th century antiquarian culture in Britain.

I completed my undergraduate work at Stanford, with a double-major in Archaeology and Classics, and then moved to the UK to do an MPhil and PhD in the Faculty of Classics at Cambridge. From 2016-2019 I was a temporary lecturer in Ancient History and Archaeology at St Andrews, and from 2019-2024 I was a lecturer in Roman history at Lancaster, before joining Durham in 2025.

• Archaeology of Roman Britain, Gaul, and Germany
• Religion and society in the Roman empire
• Roman provincial art and epigraphy
• Hadrian’s Wall
• 18th and 19th century antiquarianism.

Chapter in book

• Stranger than we knew it: Religious Landscapes and Ritual Practice on Hadrian's Wall
  
  Cousins, E. (in press). Stranger than we knew it: Religious Landscapes and Ritual Practice on Hadrian’s Wall. In R. Collins & M. Symonds (Eds.), Hadrian’s Wall: New Insights on Frontier Culture. Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.
• Introduction: thoughts on the nature of inscriptions
  
  Cousins, E. H. (2022). Introduction: thoughts on the nature of inscriptions. In E. H. Cousins (Ed.), Dynamic Epigraphy: New Approaches to Inscriptions (pp. 1-16). Oxbow.
• "Springs Sumptuously Equipped": Meanings of Water at Bath
  
  Cousins, E. (2022). "Springs Sumptuously Equipped": Meanings of Water at Bath. In M. Henig & J. Lundock (Eds.), Water in the Roman World: Engineering, Trade, Religion and Daily Life (pp. 39-52). Archaeopress. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv2v14chp.7
• Ritual on the Edge: The Dialectics of Religious Expression on the Frontiers of Roman Britain
  
  Cousins, E. (2021). Ritual on the Edge: The Dialectics of Religious Expression on the Frontiers of Roman Britain. In Dialectics of Religion in the Roman World (pp. 193-213). Franz Steiner Verlag.
• The Rudston Mosaics
  
  Cousins, E. (2017). The Rudston Mosaics. In Thwing, Rudston and the Roman-period exploitation of the Yorkshire wolds (pp. 260-266). Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society.

Edited book

• Dynamic Epigraphy: New Approaches to Inscriptions
  
  Cousins, E. H. (Ed.). (2022). Dynamic Epigraphy: New Approaches to Inscriptions. Oxbow.

Journal Article

• What’s in a name? Cocidius and the Epigraphy of Regional Deities in the Roman Empire
  
  Cousins, E. (in press). What’s in a name? Cocidius and the Epigraphy of Regional Deities in the Roman Empire. Religion in the Roman Empire.
• An Imperial Image: The Bath Gorgon in Context
  
  Cousins, E. H. (2016). An Imperial Image: The Bath Gorgon in Context. Britannia: A Journal of Romano-British and Kindred Studies, 47, 99-118. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0068113x16000131
• Votive Objects and Ritual Practice at the King's Spring at Bath
  
  Cousins, E. (2014). Votive Objects and Ritual Practice at the King’s Spring at Bath. Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal, 52-64. https://doi.org/10.16995/TRAC2013_52_64

Monograph

• The Sanctuary at Bath in the Roman Empire
  
  Cousins, E. H. (2020). The Sanctuary at Bath in the Roman Empire. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108694735