2016-2025 
Professor in the Arts and Archaeology of Africa, University of East Anglia

2007-2016 
Lecturer, then Reader, in the Arts and Archaeology of Africa, University of East Anglia

2006-2007
Lecturer in Archaeology, Newcastle University, United Kingdom

2002-2005
British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow; Tutor for Archaeology & Anthropology, Hertford College, University of Oxford, UK

2002
DPhil (Doctorate) St Cross College, University of Oxford, 

1997
Master of Arts in Research Methods for the Humanities, University College London, 

1992
Bachelor of Arts (Hons), Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Oxford, 1st class, 

• medieval archaeology of Africa and the Indian Ocean
• tracking connections through artefacts
• climate resilience
• construction of value
• coastlines

Where the sea meets the land: Coastal heritage, community resilience and inclusion in a changing landscape (CoHeRe). (PI), Research Project, CLARE programme, UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) 

This project examines how heritage can play a meaningful role in building resilience to climate change, given its capacity to cohere communities through social responsibility. The West African coastal zone, the interface between ocean, lagoons and rivers, has a rich cultural and natural heritage, a result of complex interactions over centuries. It is home to fragile ecosystems, protected environments, endangered species, heritage sites and hidden archaeology of local and international significance. Our objective is to improve resilience to evolving climate and environmental hazards through increased engagement with, and management of, heritage. Principles of heritage conservation teach us that losses and damages cannot be entirely prevented, and that decisions about what to keep and what to let go are fundamental to maintaining values for future generations – even when what is valued is gone.

 The project builds on 15 years of collaboration with colleagues in Bénin, initially through an ERC research project, Crossroads of empires (running 2011-2016), which involved yearly multidisciplinary archaeological and ethnographic field seasons in Bénin, West Africa, training and capacity building, and the organisation of an exhibition in the UK, the restitution of  research findings to local community groups in Bénin through open participation sessions, and production of published research outputs.

My work on the loss of coastal heritage in southern Bénin was also funded by the University of East Anglia Global Challenges Research fund (2018). Tourism provides income-generating opportunities to limit overexploitation of the environment and sustainable, innovative tourism is central to the Bénin government’s efforts to improve national livelihoods and economic outlook. As well as conducting archaeological work in collaboration with a leading NGO is ecotourism and sustainable development, we met with the major parties involved in the government tourism programme and those involved in preserving fragile coastal ecosystems.

The work feeds into SDG Goal 12 - Responsible consumption and production. Benefits to the people of Bénin arise through the following: helping learners acquire an appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development (Goal 4); enhancing scientific research (Goal 9); enhancing capacity for participatory and sustainable settlement planning and management, and strengthening efforts to protect and safeguard cultural and natural heritage (Goal 11); contributing to the protection of biodiversity by helping to strengthen scientific capacity and develop sustainable tourism, enabling more sustainable patterns of consumption and production and creating jobs promoting local culture and products (Goal 12); and ensuring responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels (Goal 16).

 https://clareprogramme.org/project/where-the-sea-meets-the-land-coastal-heritage-community-resilience-and-inclusion-in-a-changing-landscape-cohere/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/106564339/

Duration: 2025-2026

The Maldives, an Indian Ocean archipelago renowned internationally for its pristine beaches and diving, is less well known for its rich cultural history. Since 2013, my team’s pioneering archaeological research has demonstrated that the Maldives were once a thriving node within historic Indian Ocean networks. These findings have had demonstrable impact and relevance for the country's key economic sector—tourism—while also reshaping perceptions of heritage within the nation.

Our work has brought to light the strong local interest in, and emotional attachment to, heritage among communities living near historical sites. Through these engagements, we have confirmed the deep and inextricable connections between cultural heritage, environmental vulnerability, and tourism development. We have begun to explore how cultural values, knowledge, and heritage can serve as inclusive frameworks for shared understanding to help mitigate future risks. In such a geographically dispersed state, place-based heritage and the sense of attachment to place are critical to resilience. These findings underscore the close alignment between heritage preservation and environmental concerns in the Maldives.

This research originated with the project Cowrie Shells: An Early Global Commodity (PI), funded by a Leverhulme Trust Research Grant (2015–2018). That project traced historical connections between Africa and the Indian Ocean world through the lens of cowrie shell exchange. It included annual archaeological and ethnographic fieldwork in the Maldives and Tanzania, as well as the reassessment of archaeological and museum collections across Europe and Africa. The project also involved capacity building, training early-career researchers, managing postdoctoral staff, and overseeing the dissemination of research outputs. Then, between 2019 and 2025, the work was supported by a series of University of East Anglia internal grants designed to enhance the societal impact of research. 

The current phase focuses on heritage capacity-building, equipping emerging Maldivian heritage professionals with the skills to engage with both tangible and intangible heritage. Mentees have led or participated in excavations at two key sites—Kinolhas and Kaashidhoo—and have explored community understandings of heritage. This work aims to guide future heritage-related activities by examining how and when communities assume ownership of their cultural heritage.

In parallel, the team has organised a series of public engagement and networking events to raise awareness of archaeology and to foster dialogue about the significance and value of the Maldives' diverse tangible heritage. One example is an interview I did with V News’s flagship programme In Depth (https://youtu.be/6H0Dt7S2SbQ?si=GPuj96LIqiKIQUBz). In the capital Male’, sessions have been organised with Maldives National University undergraduate and graduate students and with Scout groups. In one workshop, participants assembled a museum display, selecting objects and identifying what stories they tell about the past. This display was later inaugurated at the National Museum of the Maldives and highlighted as part of international Museum Week in 2022. A further exhibition was held in 2025 at the National Museum and awareness-raising videos created for the National Centre for Cultural Heritage platform (https://youtu.be/_KOMYgoyWMk?si=SHkpges-kQUPRA6c)

The work hopes to benefit the people of the Maldives in the following ways: ensuring all learners acquire an appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development (Goal 4); enhancing scientific research (Goal 9); strengthening efforts to protect and safeguard cultural and natural heritage (Goal 11); and increasing the economic benefits to Small Island developing States from sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism (Goal 14).