Introduction
Welcome to my website. I'm an archaeologist, and for thirty years I have been exploring the prehistoric past. The Neolithic and Bronze Age people who walked the land over four thousand years ago left behind an incredible legacy of structures and places, including chambered cairns, stone circles and rock art.
Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments often appear static and silent in the modern world. One of my interests is to explore whether they may once have been venues where people encountered powerful and dynamic sensory experiences. Alongside survey and excavation, I've been investigating qualities such as sound and light, seeking new insights into how ancient architecture might have been used and understood.
Journal
I have often looked across the Pentland Firth from Orkney, from where it is possible to see mountains ranged across far north of mainland Scotland. I have less often looked the other way.
Low winter sunshine highlights the prints left by a flock of Oystercatchers on a beach in Sutherland, Scotland.
A visit to the Neolithic chambered cairn on the summit of Ronas Hill, the highest ground in Shetland.
A busy morning with field trips to both Old Scatness and Jarlshof, both near to Sumburgh Head at the far south of Mainland, Shetland.
Another field trip from the Scotland’s Islands Research Framework symposium led to the Scourd of Brouster, a prehistoric landscape with wide views.
This afternoon I joined a field trip to the Broch of Mousa, sited on an island a short boat journey from the east coast of Mainland, Shetland.
A field trip to visit one of the key archaeological sites in Shetland, the Neolithic axe quarries near North Roe.
As I visited diverse locations across Mainland Orkney, I collected three-dimensional models of a series of distinctive textures.
An afternoon walk on Marwick Head revealed panoramic reviews of the north coastline of mainland Scotland.
An evening visit to the coastline at Yesnaby, on the west coast of the Mainland, Orkney, Scotland.
Visiting the Clava Cairns near Inverness, Scotland, and reflecting upon research here in the 1990s.
In temperatures over thirty degree centigrade, I had an opportunity to call in at the impressive and atmospheric burial chambers at Dyffryn Ardudwy, north Wales.
Today I visited Wordsworth House in Cockermouth, the venue for a major exhibition featuring artefacts from an excavation I co-directed in 2018.
Heavy frost adds another dimension to the cup and ring markings at Achnabreck, Argyll, Scotland.
Snowfall overnight has transforming the landscape and monuments of Kilmartin Glen, Argyll, Scotland.
An afternoon walk on the hills above Achiltibuie, northwest Scotland, included spectacular views and atmospheric optical effects.
This afternoon, the low winter sun cast a subtle circular halo in the sky above Balnakei in the far northwest of Scotland.
This afternoon, I viewed a distinctive mirage across the surface of the sea near the town of Ardrossan on the west coast of Scotland.
We had just finished excavating a rock art site in Strath Tay, but one final surprise awaited: the antics of hungry red squirrels as we packed up at the end of the project.
The final day of the excavation. We complete the digging and recording, reflect upon possible interpretations of this unusual site.