We’re thrilled to be sending a third consecutive member of the MOLA team to take up the position of Field Archaeologist in Residence at the University of Cambridge.

Virgil Yendell will be in residence for one term to work on his project “Modelling Past Thames River Levels”. It will look at the changing Holocene (the last 11,700 years) Thames river levels and their impact on human activity, the environment and the evolution of London’s rivers.

His research will involve using a considerable amount of archaeological data taken from decades of archaeological excavations in London. He will aim to determine how, and if, credible river levels can be established over time, for a specific stretch of the Thames in central London. He will also focus on how dynamic models and data sets can support future work.

Speaking of the project, Virgil said: “It’s amazing to start the new year with such a great opportunity to delve into the large data sets that commercial archaeologists have built up over time, and even more so when working in collaboration with the highly skilled and knowledgeable researchers at the McDonald Institute.”

As with the work carried out by former Field Archaeologists in Residence – Christopher Chinnock and Sadie Watson – this research will bring together academic and professional disciplines to create an study that encourages archaeology into conversations with social history, ecology and evolution.

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