Using GPS to survey a mudbrick pyramid at Dra Abu el-Naga, Luxor.
I use digital approaches to archaeology to investigate, present and explain ancient society and culture, providing a new perspective on our shared past that informs our understanding of the present.
I believe that the past has the ability to illuminate every aspect of our lives, to challenge our assumptions about ourselves and our world, to drive us to do better and be better. But it is only when we approach the past on its own terms that we reap the benefits. We need to undertake archaeological research and present archaeological remains with respect for the people who generated it and a determination to hear their voices rather than reinforcing our own preconceived ideas. Only when we present archaeological data in their physical and cultural context, can we expect to benefit as individuals and as a society.
Research interests
My research interests are all associated with contextualising archaeological data because it is only by understanding an artefact, text, site or landscape in its wider context that we can approach the story it has to tell. Museums and archives are a key component of this as the final depositories of archaeological material and places where many obtain information about the past. My research interests therefore include both archaeological methods for contextualising the past (including post-excavation analysis, archaeological survey, Geographic Information Science (GIS) and satellite remote-sensing) and the preservation and presentation of archaeological material in the museum and other contexts (including collections and archival research and practice, database management, digital data storage and presentation, and the presentation of archaeological data to the public through physical and digital methods).
Affiliation
I am currently a Visiting Academic at the British Museum and Honorary Fellow at the University of Liverpool. All opinions on this blog are my own.
Archaeological experience
Museum and archival experience
After volunteering at the Southend-on-sea Pier Museum in my teens, I worked extensively in the Petrie Museum during my B.A. in Archaeology at UCL. During my M.A. in Egyptology, I developed further skills in museum and archival research, including a project covering the Egyptian collection at the Saffron Waldon Museum. As a Senior Archaeologist at Museum of London Archaeology from 2007-2010 I frequently undertook archival and collections research as part of my desk-based assessment and commercial archaeological research. In 2012, I researched and published a group of hawk statues excavated from certain ancient Egyptian quarries, and in 2017-2019 I was Asyut Project Curator at the British Museum. In addition to archaeological research, I assessed the storage of the Hogarth collection, checking artefacts and updating the database, identifying missing details, and locating and transcribing relevant archival documentation. As part of my commitment to theFriends of the Petrie Museum I lead object handling sessions at the Petrie Museum every year.
