Barry Cunliffe taught archaeology in the Universities of Bristol and Southampton and was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2008, thereafter becoming Emeritus Professor. He has excavated widely in Britain (Fishbourne, Bath, Danebury, Hengistbury Head, Brading) and in the Channel Islands, Brittany, and Spain, and has been President of the Council for British Archaeology and of the Society of Antiquaries, Governor of the Museum of London, and a Trustee of the British Museum. He was a Commissioner of English Heritage from 2005 to 2013. His many publications include The Ancient Celts (1997, second edition 2018), Facing the Ocean (2001), The Druids: A Very Short Introduction (2010), Britain Begins (2012), By Steppe, Desert, and Ocean (2015), and The Scythians (2019) all published by Oxford University Press. He received a knighthood in 2006.
"""Barry Cunliffe completes his circumnavigation of the ancient Mediterranean world by navigating the often little known, and ever-changing, relationships between North and Sub-Saharan Africa. He describes the contests between humans and their environments and between polities for control of resources. His compelling story is based on ""the detritus of human existence"", also oral and written histories. He conjures up a remarkable chronicle of human interactions from often obscure and little-known sources that extend from Morocco to the East African coast and far beyond. Facing is a beautifully written masterpiece of historical synthesis that places the Sahara in its true historical context. I couldnât put the book down."" -- Brian Fagan, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, University of California, and author of The Long Summer."