Assisting in the Exercise Yard, York Castle Museum
During the summer of 2011 I worked as a Museum Studios Volunteer at York Castle Museum, interpreting various aspects of medieval knightly life to museum visitors and instructing both children and adults in archery and jousting skills.
As a Search Engine Access Point Volunteer I am currently welcoming visitors of the National Railway Museum’s library and archive section, providing general orientation and assisting them with research queries regarding museum collections and general railway history.
As part of my undergraduate degree I conducted an independent archaeological survey of 15 sites in Co. Galway, ranging from prehistoric cairns to 19th century railway buildings. To this end I utilised building survey methods, drew accurate plans and sections, took detailed digital photographs and completed monument sheets. I also assisted fellow Historical Archaeologist David Byrne on a survey of the Burren, Co. Clare.
As part of my Master’s degree in Historical Archaeology I participated in a geophysical survey at Heslington East, York, using resistivity meters and magnetometers and later compiling and analysing the collected data.
While I specialise in the archaeology of the last five centuries, with a particular focus on 19th and 20th century agriculture, foodways and living conditions, I have written on a great variety of periods and topics, including the Christianisation of the Vikings, Crusader castles, Irish tower houses, deer parks in medieval Britain and Ireland and working class and middle class urban experiences of the 18th and 19th centuries.
For my postgraduate dissertation ‘From ploughed earth to plate- The story of British bread over the last 500 years’ (awarded 64%) I carried out extensive research into cereal cultivation, harvesting technology, milling, baking and food consumption patterns over the course of the last 500 years.
My consistent attention to detail contributed to my achieving good to excellent marks in all my university assignments.
Traditional building techniques
As part of my MA degree I studied and practised a number of traditional building techniques utilising timber, earth, brick and thatch and their specific application in the conservation of vernacular buildings both in Britain and overseas.
