Staff profile

2021- present - PhD in Geophysics and Archaeology, Earth Sciences

2018- 2021 - Supervisor, Project Officer and Senior Archaeologist at Headland Archaeology

2015- 2018 - Archaeologist and Supervisor at Cotswold Archaeology

2017- 2020 - MA Archaeology by Thesis, Durham University (part-time)

2012- 2015 - BA Archaeology 1st Class, Durham University

PhD Research

My current PhD research focusses on the use of geophysics and aerial survey to develop new interpretations of the Vallum of Hadrian's Wall. The Vallum itself is the lesser-known cousin of the Wall, running the same route from east-west across the north of England, but situated slightly further to the south (often as little ass just 10m away). In simple terms, it comprises a large central ditch, flanked by two mounds to the north and south compiled using the upcast form the ditch. The entire monument measures approximately 35m in width.

Despite over a century of intensive research into Hadrian's Wall, and the inclusion of the Vallum within the UNESCO World Heritage designation, we are still perplexingly in the dark about its function. Perhaps justifiably, the Wall itself, and its forts and milecastles have recieved much of the research focus in recent decades, but our undertanding of the Vallum has suffered as a result. There have been fewer than 10 excavations over the past 50 years and none of the current hypotheses stand up to scrutiny. Yet the Vallum was clearly an integral part of the Hadrianic frontier and our understanding of the whole complex is lessened by the lack of attention.

As excavation is expensive, it is far more prudent to turn to geophysical surveys and remote sensing methods to redress this balance. My PhD has utilised multi-frequency Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Electrical Resisitvity Tomography (ERT, including timelapse-ERT) and landscape-scale gradiometry surveys to enhance our understanding of the Vallum at a number of locations along the Wall (Harlow Hill, Down Hill, Haltonchesters, Milking Gap and Carvoran). So far, the research has shown that elements of the Vallum thought lost to erosion can survive where perhaps we thought otherwise; that methods such as GPR and ERT are useful in extrapolating the results of limited excavations of monumental earthworks; and that the landscape-context of the Vallum is significantly more complex than is often tacitly assumed.

Spatial statistical analysis of freely available LiDAR and aerial imagery data for the Vallum has also  proved significant in developing new ideas about its function. Although the research in still in progress, initial results indicate that entirely new ideas to explain the use, development, and chronology of the Vallum can still be developed from exisitng data, and may have been staring us in the face for decades.

Professional background

From 2015 to 2021 I worked as a professional archaeologist in the construction industry, starting as a graduate trainee with Cotswold Archaeology and progressing to Senior Archaeologist with Headland Archaeology. During this time I developed numerous skills and specialisms, primarily in archaeological excavation and site survey but also in GIS, technical report writing, and the interpretation of archaeological, environmental and geophysical data.

As a Project Officer and Senior Archaeologist with Headland, I developed skills in site management, and Health and Safety in the context of nationally significant infrastructure projects such as HS2. I developed a particular focus in the management of projects related to the on-shore cable routes and substations for off-shore windfarms. These present unique challenges in relation to elements such as land access management, working within DCOs (Development Consent Orders), and managing delicate local and environmental priorities.

A selection of reports from my time in this industry as listed here:

• Headland Archaeology Ltd. (2019). Land at Cricklewood Broadway, Barnet, London: Archaeological Evaluation. Archaeology Data Service. https://doi.org/10.5284/1058433
• Cotswold Archaeology. (2018). Land off Junction 15, M1, Collingtree, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Evaluation. Archaeology Data Service. https://doi.org/10.5284/1054406
• Cotswold Archaeology. (2017). Land off Back Road, Linton, Cambridgeshire: Archaeological Evaluation. Archaeology Data Service. https://doi.org/10.5284/1049811

Research Projects

In addition to my own research, I have worked on a number of other projects, often excavations, for short periods across multiple years:

1. Supervisor, Sources de l'Yonne, Burgundy
   • In 2018, 2023 and 2024 I spent 1 month each summer supervising excavation at a Romano-Gallic sanctuary site close to the oppidum of Bibracte, Burgundy. The ongoing excavations are directed by Prof. Tom Moore (Durham) and Ralf Hoppadiez (Leipzig) with my role being primarily teaching excavation and survey methods to students, and compiling and reviewing digital and paper records for the site.
2. Supervisor, Scots Dyke surveys and excavations
   • In 2021 and 2022 I assissted in the surveys and excavations directed by Prof. Tom Moore (Durham) and Prof. Andrew Reynolds (UCL) focussed on Scots Dyke, a linear earthwork of presumed Late Iron Age date in North Yorkshire. I supervised not only excavations of the monument, but also gradiometry surveys, including teaching students how to use Bartington Grad601s.
3. Assistant Supervisor, Ness of Brodgar excavations 
   • In 2016, 2017 and 2018 I spent 1 month each summer working in Structure 10 at the Ness of Brodgar Neolithic complex in Orkney. As an assisstant supervisor I was larger responsible for teaching volunteers and students basic excavation methods and compiling an reviewing paperwork related to the site. 
4.  Bagendon Project
   • As an undergraduate student I spent 3 summers (201, 2014, 2015) excavating and conducting gradiometry surveys as part of the Bagendon Project, directed by Prof. Tom Moore. The oppidum at Bagendon also formed one of the case study sites for my Master's Reserach, part of which was published in the monograph for the project in 2020.

• Landscape and geophysical surveys of the Vallum of Hadrian's Wall.
• The Late Iron Age to Roman transitional period in Britain and Northern Europe.
• The use of established, near-surface geophysical methods in novel archaeological contexts.