People
Dr Penelope Allison (Professor in Ancient History and Archaeology)
- Roman housing and material culture, especially at Pompeii; gender and space at Roman military sites; Australian historical archaeology.
Dr B Tyr Fothergill (Research Fellow, Human Brain Project)
- Tyr originally trained as a palaeopathologist studying signs of disease and injury in skeletal remains from archaeological sites, but her interest in the processes and nature of research led to a shift in personal research focus. Tyr is interested in technology ethics and neuroethics; ethics communication and outreach; responsible data governance; archaeological insights into human relationships with nonhumans in digital environments; neuroscience history; and developing a temporally-contingent framework for researcher reflection within Responsible Research and Innovation.
Dr Sarah Newstead (Executive Director/Pitboss, Atlas Coalmine, National Historic Site, Canada)
- Industrial archaeology; historic preservation; formerly teaching fellow in Archaeology and Ancient History; global export of Portuguese ceramics (particularly earthenwares) in the 16th through 18th centuries and how these activities challenge traditional narratives of Portugal's place in the formation of the modern world.
Dr Emma Dwyer (Research and Funding Grant Facilitator at MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology))
- Previously Enterprise Fellow and Business Development Executive for Heritage in the Research and Enterprise Division at the University of Leicester. I undertook my PhD at Leicester's Centre for Historical Archaeology, where I contributed to teaching on the Historical Archaeology MA. Before coming to Leicester, I was Senior Archaeologist in the Built Heritage department at MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) and had previously worked for archaeology units across Britain. I am a full Member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (MCIfA), Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA) and Hon. Secretary of the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology. Research interests: modern urbanism and evolving notions of modernity in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Dr Alice Samson (Lecturer in Archaeology)
- Pre-Columbian and colonial indigenous Caribbean archaeology, especially early colonial dynamics; island archaeology; settlement dynamics; rock art.
Dr Sarah Tarlow (Professor in Historical Archaeology)
- Archaeological theory; the archaeology of death; the archaeology of later historical periods in Britain and elsewhere. Her current Leverhulme-funded project is examining the treatment of the dead between the 16th and 20th centuries.
Dr Richard Thomas (Reader in Archaeology)
- Zooarchaeology; animal husbandry in medieval and post-medieval England. Research addresses the integration of zooarchaeological and historical evidence, particularly with respect to the Black Death, the Agricultural Revolution and the relationship between diet and social status.
Dr Ruth Young (Reader in Archaeology)
- Urban-rural relationships, transhumance, ideology and material culture in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Iran. Currently exploring the historical archaeology of landlord villages in the Tehran Plain in the first ever investigation of 20th-century archaeology in Iran.
Affiliated staff
Dr Neil Christie and Deirdre O’Sullivan have research and teaching interests in medieval archaeology. Dr David Edwards researches and writes on the historical archaeology of the Sudan and of North Africa more generally.
Ancient historians contributing expertise include Professor Graham Shipley, Dr Dan Stewart and Dr Andy Merrills.
Current PhD researchers
- The archaeology of soup kitchens and their role in post-medieval philanthropy 1660-1914 (Midlands 3 Cities doctoral award).
- The role of food and drink in early modern identity construction with a case study on Bradgate House, Leicestershire (Midlands 3 Cities doctoral award).
Honorary Fellows
Dr Alasdair Brooks (Teaching Fellow in Historical Archaeology)
- Post-medieval ceramics and material culture; comparative historical archaeology of Australasia, Britain, eastern North America and South America.
Dr Christopher King (Lecturer in Archaeology, University of Nottingham)
- Archaeology of late medieval and post-medieval Britain; standing buildings and the archaeology of households; the development of urban landscapes; the cultural landscapes of urban nonconformity from 1600-1790.
Dr Ian West (Honorary Fellow)
- Received his PhD from the University of Leicester in 2009 with research focusing on the impact of changes in lighting technology on industrial workplaces in Britain. Currently working with Professor Marilyn Palmer on the country house technology project.
Professor Marilyn Palmer (Emeritus Professor of Industrial Archaeology)
- A pioneer of industrial archaeology, combining industrial technology and social archaeology. Her Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship project explores the social impact of technological innovation on country house estates.