Faculty 

Chair of the Social Studies Department 
Faculty Co-moderator: It’s Academic  Club
Coach: Varsity Boys Lacrosse

Education:
BA, History, University of Richmond

Joined Middleburg Academy Faculty:  2002

Why I chose Middleburg Academy:
This is truly a special place.  Within a safe, supportive environment, students can explore varied interests in both the classroom and on the stages and playing fields.  I would ask people to gaze at our stellar college acceptances, as well as the balance between small college preparatory classes and dedicated extra-curricular offerings. 

Three events in history I would love to witness if I could briefly go back in time:

First, a time machine would be incredibly handy for both the historian as well as the archaeologist.  My first stop on my time-traveling voyage would be to East Africa some 7 million years ago.  Specifically, I would be looking for the first archaic hominid, or upright walker.  Are the contemporary theories about the appearance, diet, and habitat correct, or will my time-traveling detonate all current ideas surrounding the origins of humanity?

My second stop would be in Alexandria, Egypt during the Hellenistic Age, sometime around 250 B.C.E.  Alexandria was the great mixing bowl of cultures (not unlike America), and possessed a great collection of philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians.  It also housed the Pharos Lighthouse as well as a great library.  Dinner on the Nile Delta, followed by a philosophical debate between Zeno and one of his students, would be delightful!

Finally, I will choose an event or location a bit closer to home.  As a boy, I was fascinated with stories of the Lost Colony on Roanoke Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  I suppose I would like to visit the Colony circa 1588 to witness what happened to the English settlers stranded on the Island.  Were they wiped out via native violence, did they move to another area, or were they absorbed by the indigenous peoples?

History game my students never tire of playing:
After many years, I feel that my students still enjoy our Jeopardy-style review games before formal assessments.  While others might become aggravated by the sound and fervor of the excited students, I truly enjoy the passion and interest my young men and women show in the material.  I also think that my students enjoy it when we dramatize, in a talk-show format, the twisted relationship between the Egyptian pantheon of brothers and sisters, husbands and wives.  Anubis, Horus, Seth, and Osiris come to life in this activity, thanks in large part to the difficult questions levied by a student host.

Ritual or custom from the past I am glad I will never have to take part in:
This is a great question!  There are many rites of passage throughout history that I believe were and are invaluable to personal and communal growth.  However, I would have to say that the Native American ritual of the Sun Dance would be low on my list of priorities.  While it would have been a great honor to serve in this summertime ritual, the thought of hanging from a pole for up to four days, or until the barbs fixed to the pole ripped through my chest, is not very appealing.     

Signs from my early childhood that may have pointed to an interest in archaeology:  
As a young boy, I remember burying my action figures, as well as a “treasure chest” in the back yard.  With the action figures, I would systematically excavate them from their pit a few days later.  With the “treasure chest,” I waited at least ten years to excavate it.  Wildly excited, I opened the chest, only to find out that the note I had left had disintegrated, and “treasure” was just a bunch of pennies.

Where I would go and what I would do if a donor were to underwrite a year-long research sabbatical:
Wow, please make certain that this is published and distributed to the greater community!  For three field seasons, I worked at a Roman site on the beaches of Cumae, Italy.  The site was supposed to be a temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess, Isis. However, after three seasons, we found evidence that would suggest that the temple may have been more an opulent maritime villa with a shrine to Isis. Unfortunately, we ran out of time, and have not returned to the site in a decade.  Barring using the time machine from the earlier question, further research and excavation could assist in solving the temple/villa/both question.  As a bonus, my underwriter could join us on the excavation! 

Most interesting thing I recently learned about a Middleburg Academy graduate:
We recently had our Annual Notre Dame/Middleburg Academy Lacrosse Alumni Game, and I found out that no fewer than three of my former players and students (Justin Porter, Class of ’05; Will Ashwell, Class of ’04, and Jon Herpy, Class of ’05) are attending law school.  Who knew that litigation and lacrosse were so similar?

I am also very proud of Hillary Kennedy, Class of 2010, and current College of William & Mary student for her recent archaeological fieldwork on the island of Bermuda.  Hillary was one of my very best students in archaeology and anthropology here at Middleburg Academy, and she is now pursuing archaeology at the collegiate level, and hopefully beyond!

Click here to read more about Rob Horne.