I have been undertaking freelance archaeological work since I left Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) in 2010. Over the first two years of my freelance career, I specialised in desk-based assessment and English Heritage projects undertaken for MOLA. I made use of my academic knowledge of Egyptology when I developed teaching materials for Mouseion Professors and guided tours around the Tutankhamun exhibition at the Saatchi gallery. Since completing my PhD, I have undertaken three freelance geographic information systems (GIS) projects, most recently combing my GIS and satellite remote-sensing skills with Egyptological knowledge on the Circulating Artefacts project. My freelance work has been varied but is all associated with my knowledge of British and Egyptian archaeology and my skills in GIS and satellite remote-sensing.
Description:
Pistiros Project
I am currently working on the post-excavation analysis, publication of images, and archival preparation of maps and plans from the excavations of the ancient site of Pistiros (Vetren) in Bulgaria.
This work involved transferring the AutoCAD data into GIS format, georeferencing historic excavation plans, vectorising raster data, organising, checking, and correcting the digital site plans and sections. I then created phase plans, and site location maps in consultation with the client and prepared images for publication. Once the publication is complete, I will also prepare the digital data for archiving with the Archaeological Data Service.
Client:
Zosia Halina Archibald, University of Liverpool
Project Duration:
2015- ongoing
Role:
GIS specialist
Description:
Olynthos Project
Since 2015 I have been working on the Olynthos Project excavation data, initially consolidating records of previous excavations in a GIS and subsequently managing the GIS data and providing advice on standards and data integration. This work included organising the GIS data on the project repository, collating plans, plotting small finds and samples, digitising analogue data, and incorporating spreadsheet data into GIS formats. I also experimented with mobile-GIS for fieldwalking on site.
Since the completion of the fieldwork component of the project, I have provided suggestions for post-excavation GIS analysis and data management tasks.
Client:
Zosia Halina Archibald, University of Liverpool
Project Duration:
2015-ongoing
Role:
GIS Specialist and data manager
Description:
Circulating Artefacts Project
As part of the British Museum’s s Circulating Artefacts Project I used satellite imagery and historic excavation data to georeference plans of ancient Egyptian sites from the Topographical Bibliography and other sources. These plans allowed me to provide world coordinates for the locations of artefacts tracked by the project. I worked with the client and an external provider to create a semantic database with names and types based on the TGN (Getty Thesaurus) which was then joined to the GIS polygons and/or points marking the tombs, temples, structures and features. The resulting ‘Place Authority’ comprised a semantic database with geographic coordinates based on the GIS point and polygon data. This Place Authority model was archaeologically and geographically robust and could be extended to all the artefacts included in the project, modelling their movement from the original excavations or findspot to their ultimate destination in museums worldwide.
Client:
Marcel Marée, Department of Ancient Egypt and the Sudan, British Museum
Project Duration:
2020 – 2021
Role:
GIS specialist
Description:
Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh Exhibition
From November 2019 until March 2020 I regularly guided small groups around the Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh exhition at the Saatchi Gallery in London. I tailored each visit to the interests of the group, identifying artefacts and explaining their history and meaning of theobjects in the past and now. I also translated hieroglyphs, and provided context for the discovery and excavation, including the history of the 18th Dynasty, the ancestry of Tutankhamun and the colonial context for the excavations.
Client:
Saatchi Gallery
Project Duration:
2019-2020
Role:
Guide
Description:
Analysis of Barry J. Kemp, Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilisation, 2nd ed.
(London and New York: Routledge, 2006).
During 2012 and early 2013 I created a 13,500 word analysis of Kemp’s Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilisation. This peer-reviewed analysis was extremely detailed. I covered the book, its themes, core ideas, origins, critiques and position within Egyptology and Egyptian archaeology. I also undertook several peer reviews of other germinal works on ancient Egyptian culture.
Client:
Mouseion Professors Limited
Project Duration:
2012-2013
Role:
Creator of academic teaching materials
Description:
Archaeological desk-based assessments
From 2010 until 2013 I undertook multiple archaeological desk-based assessments and environmental impact assessments. I was responsible for identifying known and potential archaeological assets on development sites and preparing appropriate plans for mitigation for including in planning proposals. I also completed the English Heritage (now Historic England) funded Assessment of Archaeological Resources in Aggregate Areas of the Isle of Wight project, and wrote several draft funding proposals, including the ultimately successful Hulk Assemblages project.
Client:
Jon Chandler, Museum of London Archaeology
Project Duration:
2010-2013
Role:
Archaeological desk-based assessor and grant writer.
Scribe in the House of Life: Hannah Pethen Ph.D. 