Kamash studied for a BA Hons in Classics at the University of Oxford. Kamash completed a DPhil at the University of Oxford in 2007 entitled Water supply and management in the Near East, 63 BC-AD 636.
Career
An early research focus was on archaeological evidence for water management in the Roman Middle East, including dams, irrigation technology and toilets. From 2011-2014 she worked on the ERC funded English Landscapes and Identity Project, directed by Chris Gosden. She was the Director of Studies in Archaeology at Magdalen College. She was appointed as a lecturer in Roman Art and Archaeology at Royal Holloway. More recently, her research has focused on post conflict reconstruction in the Middle East, including an investigation into the public response to the reconstruction of Monumental Arch of Palmyra. The project Rematerialising Mosul Museum utilised crafting as a response to cultural heritage destruction in Iraq, collaborating with the artist Karin Celestine. Another research focus has been the role of food in the construction of memory and identity. In 2019, Kamash was awarded a grant of £227,813.50 by the British Academy as Principal Investigator for a project entitled 'Crafting Heritage for Well-Being in Iraq'. Her co-investigators are Dr Emma Claire Palmer-Cooper of the University of Southampton and Dr Alana Marie Levinson-LaBrosse of the American University of Iraq.
Kamash, Zena. 2009. “What Lies beneath ? Perceptions of the Ontological Paradox of Water.” World Archaeology 40 : 224–37.
Kamash, Z, C Gosden, and G Lock. 2010. “Continuity and Religious Practices in Roman Britain: The Case of the Rural Religious Complex at Marcham/Frilford, Oxfordshire.” Britannia 41: 95–125.
Kamash, Zena. 2012. Irrigation technology, society and environment in the Roman Near East. Journal of Arid Environments. 86, p. 65-74
Kamash, Zena. 2017. 'Postcard to Palmyra’: bringing the public into debates over post-conflict reconstruction in the Middle East. World Archaeology 49, 5, p. 608-622
Kamash, Zena et al. 2017 Remembering the Romans in the Middle East and North Africa: memories and reflections from a museum-based public engagement project. Epoiesen: Journal for Creative Engagement in History and Archaeology.
Kamash, Z. 2018. ‘Sweet and Delicious, he who Tastes it will Go Back to it’: Food, Memory and Religion in the Roman Middle East. Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal.
