R. G. Collingwood
Birley was educated at Clifton College.He then studied classics at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he obtained a double first in Mods and Greats. He was influenced in the study of history and archaeology by Michael Holroyd, his Brasenose tutor; R. G. Collingwood, the renowned authority on Roman Britain; and F.G. Simpson, Director of Field Studies at Durham, and a great influence on Birley vis-à-vis the art and science of excavation.