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Supporting archaeological research
Using Commercial Experience in Academic Archaeology
My experience working in commercial archaeology has given me the opportunity to develop and refine my survey techniques that I can bring back into academic fieldwork. I have worked as a supervisor on several University of Glasgow excavations and have also been involved in fieldwork with Cardiff University. I enjoy finding ways to adapt methods developed through the intensity of commercial work to academic projects, where the research questions and recording requirements can be quite different. I believe archaeology benefits enormously from adopting techniques developed in other disciplines, and that we should always be looking for ways to improve how we record, analyse and understand the archaeological record.
Sharing Knowledge and Developing Skills
One of the things I enjoy most about academic fieldwork is the opportunity to share what I have learned. I am always happy to explain my survey methods, demonstrate equipment and introduce other students to GNSS, drone survey, photogrammetry and GIS. I frequently bring my own equipment to university excavations and, where appropriate, give students the opportunity to use it themselves under supervision. Having taught myself much of what I know about digital survey, I particularly enjoy helping others understand not just how the equipment works, but why certain methods are used and what their limitations are. I find that teaching others also encourages me to question and improve my own approach.
Contributing to Archaeological Research
My survey work extends beyond recording sites in the field. The maps, archaeological plans and illustrations I produce are currently used in university lectures and have regularly featured in presentations by academics at the University of Glasgow's archaeological seminar series. My work was also featured in Professor Stephen Driscoll's Dalrymple Lecture, with the illustrations credited to me.
Seeing survey data I have collected and processed being used to communicate archaeological research is particularly rewarding. I have also had the opportunity to speak about my own survey work at the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, sharing my methods and experiences with a wider archaeological audience.
I take opportunities to contribute to academic projects whenever I can, both because I enjoy the technical challenges of survey and because I genuinely love archaeology and want the work I produce to be useful to others.
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