The Rathcroghan Archaeological Complex, Ireland

The OA team comprises senior practitioners with backup support from experienced specialists. The team is led by Melanie Pomeroy-Kellinger, Senior Project Manager, a recognised specialist in conservation management planning for prehistoric landscapes, supported by Klara Spandl, Joint Head of Consultancy and Historic Conservation Expert. The majority of the data collection and analysis is being undertaken by Ros Maolduin, Project Officer in our Fieldwork Department who has considerable knowledge and experience of the archaeology of Ireland. Our internal specialists will include Robin Latour from our Geomatics/GIS department.

On this project Oxford Archaeology is working in conjunction with ADAS Sustainable Land Management Team. The ADAS team is headed by Keith Rowe.

Melanie is an archaeologist, lecturer and heritage management specialist with experience of working in Britain and overseas. In her previous employment Melanie was responsible for the management of the Avebury World Heritage Site (a prehistoric complex including the largest stone circle in the world). During this time she wrote two management plans and compiled the research framework for the complex. Melanie’s expertise in the development of management plans for archaeological world heritage sites has been recognised and sought after by overseas agencies. This includes a mission to North Korea in 2000 to assess monuments for UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre as well as a project for Heritage Malta to advise on the management of the Maltese megalithic temples.

Klara Spandl BA, MSc, AIFA, Joint Head of Heritage Management Services

Klara has extensive experience of strategic and thematic studies for cultural resource management. She was responsible for OA’s contracts with English Heritage for the nation-wide studies of ice houses, dovecotes and bridges, for the Monuments Protection Programme. KS made a major contribution to OA’s strategic study of the procedures for the conduct of urban archaeology in Ireland, now published in Urban Archaeological Practice in Ireland. She has recently worked as a Consultant to the Jersey Government offering advice on how the Planning system should be set up to incorporate archaeological policies.

Ros O’Maolduin Bsc, Project Officer

Ros has over seven years of experience as a field archaeologist and as an archaeological researcher. His experince has been gained in Ireland, UK, Italy, Romania and France, including three years as a Site Director in southern Ireland. Ros has been employed by a range of agencies as a senior archaeologist and Site Director on a number of large road scheme projects in Ireland and is a full member of the Irish Institute of Archaeologists. Ros has been employed by Oxford Archaeology for the last six months as a Project Officer.

Jill Hind BSc MSt AIFA, Project Officer

Jill qualified in 2000 from Oxford University with a Master of Studies in Professional Archaeology.
Since October 1999 she has worked for Oxford Archaeology, as a research assistant until 2003 and now as a project officer. She has produced numerous desk based assessments, and worked on various environmental impact assessments, including a large road scheme project, development of sewage treatment works, a waste management centre and major housing developments. JH is a lecturer on short-courses in Professional Archaeology at OUDCE, passing on her expertise in DBAs and EIAs. She has also worked on the update of the cultural heritage sections of the Highways Agency DMRB and Conservation Plan for Audley End and Kenilworth Castle.

CAD and GIS packages feature increasingly in JH’s work, particularly in relation to Urban Characterisation. JH has completed the Newbury Historic Character Study and Melton Mowbray Historic Character Survey and has contributed to the Oxfordshire Extensive Town Survey.

JH has recently completed an Interreg IIIB funded project for Planarch 2, a survey of cultural heritage components of Environmental Impact Assessments, working with George Lambrick, now published in Planarch 2: Review of Cultural Heritage Coverage in Environmental Impact Assessments (G Lambrick & J Hind 2006). The results contributed to development of a set of European Guidelines for EIA. She is part of the team from Oxford Wessex Archaeology managing the Solent Thames Research Framework project.

Robin Latour BA, MPhil, GIS Specialist

Robin is an archaeologist with experience in excavation, archaeological survey and spatial data analysis. Robin’s Geomatics career began during her professional training with the Royal Commission for Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (as part of her PGDip). She started at Oxford Archaeology as an illustrator, before moving into Geomatics and assuming a general survey and analysis role. She has been a GIS specialist/supervisor for 18 months. Robin has a strong background in a wide range of IT skills, including most mainstream GIS, illustration and survey packages.

Robin has excavated sites from the Palaeolithic to the medieval, but her main experience lies in landscape and feature survey. She has been developing skills in landscape recognition and survey, with particular interest in prehistoric and early medieval landscapes. Robin has contributed to a number of projects, such the historic landscape characterisation of London, a survey of abandoned rural settlements in Aberdeenshire, and the co-ordination of an exhibition on the archaeology and history of Yarnton and Begbroke (Oxfordshire). Currently Robin is working on Stansted Airport G2 EIA, Rainham Marshes Topographic Survey and Combe Down mines along with many smaller projects.

Keith Rowe BA (Hons), MA, Msc, MLI , Principal Consultant, ADAS

Keith Rowe is a Chartered Landscape Architect, specialising in Protected Landscape Management and Monitoring Change. Keith was a part of the consultancy team that produced the ‘Good Practice Discussion Note on Landscape Benefits in Road Design’ for the Countryside Agency. He previously worked for the National Trust as Project Director for the Stonehenge Project and had a strategic role linking, championing and co-ordinating land use advice across four counties. Keith researched and delivered the NT and EH sponsored work on Measuring the Effectiveness of Protected Landscape Management, which was piloted within the Stonehenge World Heritage Site. A major part of the work was to identify and agree indicators of change, collect appropriate data and set up a model for monitoring change over time. He facilitated and wrote a land use change plan for Stonehenge, which won a Landscape Institute Award in 2004. Prior to that he initiated and developed (together with Melanie Pomeroy-Kellinger) a special agri-environment scheme with DEFRA and English Heritage for the Avebury and Stonehenge World Heritage Sites, which was adopted by MAFF in 2002. Keith is also Chair of the Landscape Institute’s (LI) Professional Practice Committee and is a Member of the LI Council.

Christopher Forster Brown BA, Msc, Senior Ecological Consultant, ADAS

Christopher Forster Brown is a qualified consulltant ecologist with over ten years of experience. At ADAS Chris was Project manager for the extended Phase I survey of lowland grassland in Northern Ireland. He submitted winnning tender for this three year project and was responsible for two field surveyors, annual report writing, recommendation for sites to be put forward for designations. He has also had extensive involvement with the monitoring of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme throughout England .