Ben Edwards

Ben undertook a BA (Hons) in Archaeology at Durham, followed by an AHRC-funded MA and PhD in archaeology at the same institution. His MA focused upon the landscape analysis of Bronze Age burial traditions, whilst his PhD concerned the nature of social reproduction during the Neolithic of northern Britain, expressed through changing traditions of deposition and their associated architectures. His PhD, Pits and the Architecture of Deposition, was completed in July of 2009. Alongside this PhD research Ben has been active in field research and excavation, particularly focused on archaeological survey techniques, digital recording, and the metric analysis of artefacts using laser scanning. He has directed three recent community excavation projects at Warden, Duddo Stone Circle, and Milfield, all in Northumberland.

In September 2008 Ben was employed by the University of Liverpool to teach archaeological practice, delivering training in practical field methods and contemporary archaeological theory and ethics. These responsibilities led to his current research focus on digital survey techniques and the role of heritage in contemporary society: the manner in which identities are constructed and maintained with reference to a real or imagined past. He continues to publish on this subject.

In February 2011 Ben joined the Department of History at MMU, and contributes to teaching on Archaeology and the Historic Environment. Ben was recently awarded major AHRC grant funding, in collaboration with Bangor and Aberystwyth universities, to 3-dimensionally record prehistoric monuments in North Wales using digital photogrammetry and laser scanning technology. Ben currently directs a major landscape archaeological research programme in Milfield, Northumberland, examining Neolithic monuments and settlements.

Ben also provides archaeological consultancy and surveying services to the commercial sector, see: www.arch-survey.com