Educated as an archaeological scientist, I have specialised in archaeological geophysics since 1989, and in forensic geophysics, together with forensic archaeology since 1994, working first at Bradford and subsequently Bournemouth University, where I currently teach these three topics. I have worked on over 50 domestic homicide cases in a search and recovery capacity, and have been involved in locating mass graves in Kosovo, Iraq and Ukraine. I have published a number of academic papers on search and recovery techniques in forensic contexts. I regularly undertake archaeological geophysical surveys and archaeological excavations of sites of all periods in the UK and Europe, previously working on projects at the World Heritage sites of Stonehenge, Fountains Abbey, Pompeii, Jarlsof and most recently the Skorba temples in Malta. My archaeological research is focused on the late Iron Age and Romano-British settlement in Dorset, and I am a co-director of the Durotriges Project. I am directing a geophysical survey of the Lake Farm 2nd Augusta legionary campaign fortress at Wimborne Minster (Dorset). Other recent work includes garden geophysical surveys at Clifton Maybank and Kingston Lacy, the survey and evaluation of the reputed mass burial site of Pistil Meadow, Lizard (Cornwall) and Frampton Roman villa. I also have been undertaking geophysical survey projects at Knowlton (Dorset) and Vix (France). Professionally, I created the first archaeological and forensic sciences degree in the world which has brought over £5M fees income to the University and helped instigate and write the first programme specification for the forensic science degrees at Bournemouth University, which now bring in over £2M fees income per annum. I developed and lead the current incarnation of the internationally successful MSc Forensic Archaeology programme. I also invented the multiple potential electrode twin (MPET), or Cheetham, array for high-resolution near-surface geophysics.

Research

In addition to my main research project on the late prehistoric and Roman settlement in Dorset on the down above Winterborne Kingston, I am currently undertaking geophysical surveys of early Neolithic sites on Cyprus, a Roman legionary fortress in southern Britain, together with historic garden surveys at Kingston Lacy and Clifton Maybank (both in Dorset). More recently I have been working on the reinterpretation of Frampton Roman villa.

Publications

Outreach & engagement

Media coverage

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