We are delighted to announce the appointment of two new Trustees to our Board. Cyprian Broodbank is the Disney Professor of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge, and Shahina Farid is a hugely experienced field archaeologist currently at Historic England in the Scientific Dating Team.  

In a year when the connections made by archaeology are more important than ever, MOLA has continued to thrive and provide innovative archaeological advice and services across the UK.  Shahina and Cyprian bring a wealth of experience across research and professional archaeology and their appointments will help us to increase and strengthen our research impact and foster greater inclusion and engagement in archaeology.  

Shahina Farid is a British trained field archaeologist with extensive experience of working for London-based commercial units. Shahina in fact began her archaeological career in MOLA’s previous existence as the Department of Urban Archaeology (DUA) of the Museum of London. She also has an international reputation and is best known for her work as Field Director and Project Coordinator for the world-renowned Neolithic excavations at the Çatalhöyük Research Project in Turkey. She has, therefore, considerable understanding of both commercial and research projects having led inter-disciplinary teams and advised on excavation and recording methodologies around the world. Since 2012 Shahina has been the Scientific Dating Coordinator at Historic England, managing dendrochronology casework. She has been involved for over 10 years with the British Institute at Ankara, having served two terms as Honorary Secretary, and currently sits on the Diversity and Equality Working Group for the Society of Antiquaries of London.  She is also an Honorary Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, and a part-time Research Fellow at Stirling University. 

When we spoke to Shahina about joining our Board she said,

“It’s a privilege to be on the Board of the organisation to which I owe a great deal for the career I chose to follow.  I hope I can repay some of that debt by drawing on the skillsets I have accrued and by helping to steer the stellar trajectory MOLA leads in uncovering and sharing the rich and diverse history in the buried and built heritage that surrounds us.” 

Cyprian Broodbank read History at Oxford and converted to archaeology through a Masters degree at Bristol and a PhD at Cambridge. For 20 years he taught and researched at UCL’s Institute of Archaeology, before returning to Cambridge in 2014, where he is the Disney Professor, Head of a newly enlarged Department of Archaeology currently ranked first in the world, and Director of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. His research focusses on archaeology as global deep history, with a particular emphasis on the dynamics of the Mediterranean (where he has led fieldwork since the 1990s), and the archaeology of islands. Cyprian is a Fellow of the British Academy, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and a Corresponding Member of the Archaeological Institute of America. In 2014, he was awarded the Wolfson Prize for History for his book The Making of the Middle Sea.  

We asked Cyprian about his appointment and he said: 

“As both a Londoner born and bred, and an archaeologist, I am immensely proud and honoured to be invited to join MOLA’s distinguished Board, and to work together to drive forward for new generations our understanding of this extraordinary global city and the past of other parts of the UK, employing the cutting-edge techniques and fresh ideas for which MOLA is so rightly renowned.” 

Rosamund Blomfield-Smith, the Chairman of our Board, sent this message on behalf of our Board: 

“We are delighted to welcome these talented and eminent individuals to the Board of Trustees. We were pleased to have applications from a very wide range of  talented candidates to join the Board of Trustees. Cyprian and Shahina bring a breadth and depth of experience in archaeology and heritage and will join an already deeply committed and passionate Board of Trustees which plays a crucial role in ensuring the ongoing success of MOLA”.   

Find out more about our Board of Trustees.

 

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