Peter Sommer is a British archaeologist,[1] television director and producer, and tour operator.
The documentaries he has worked on include Tales from the Green Valley, a 12 part series about life on a farm in the year 1620 shown on BBC2 in 2005, Weapons That Made Britain shown on Channel 4, Britain's Finest Castles and Britain's Finest Ancient Monuments (Channel Five), Millennium: A thousand years of history (BBC/CNN), Commanding Heights: the Battle for the World Economy (PBS/BBC) and In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great (BBC/PBS).
Sommer received a first-class degree in Ancient History and Archaeology following by an MPhil. from Birmingham University,[2] before embarking on a PhD. at University College London.
In 1994, Sommer walked 2,000 miles across Turkey,[3] from Troy to the site of the battle of Issus,[4] retracing the route of Alexander the Great. For this journey he received The Explorers Club of America Young Expeditioners’ award.
A freelance writer,[5] who has written on topics including travel,[6][7] archaeology, and documentary making,[8] Sommer also heads a British tour operator, Peter Sommer Travels, which specialises in expert-led cultural and archaeological tours. Sommer lives in Monmouthshire in Wales.[9]
Awards and recognition
editSommer was awarded the Learning on Screen Award in 2006 by the British Universities Film & Video Council, for the BBC TV series Tales from the Green Valley.[10][11] The travel company he founded, Peter Sommer Travels, won the Tour Operator of the Year Gold Award in 2016,[12] 2018 and 2023 and the Silver Award in 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2024, given by AITO,[13] The (Association of Independent Tour Operators).
References
edit- ^ "Experts' and readers' tips. Holidays in Turkey Q&A". The Guardian website.
- ^ "Old Joe: The University of Birmingham's Alumni and Friends Magazine" (PDF). The University of Birmingham website.
- ^ "Intelligent Travel". National Geographic website.
- ^ "Top Ten Learning Retreats". National Geographic Traveler website.
- ^ "TravelwritersUK". TravelwritersUK website.
- ^ "Turkey: in the Footsteps of Alexander". Current World Archaeology magazine website.
- ^ "Istanbul: Queen of Cities". Retirement Today magazine website.
- ^ "A window to the Past". Peter Sommer travel writing and photography website.
- ^ "Following the footsteps of Alexander the Great". Wales Online website.
- ^ All3Media: "Tales from the Green Valley"
- ^ Learning on Screen Awards. Winners 2006"
- ^ "Peter Sommer Travels Named 'Tour Operator of the Year' by AITO". GTP Headlines website.
- ^ "AITO Awards". AITO website.