ScARF Steering Group
The role of the Steering Group for the Scottish Archaeological Research Framework (ScARF) incorporates six main responsibilities:
1. Providing leadership and support to the project
2. Ensuring ScARF meets deadlines and budgets
3. Providing arbitration if required
4. Encouraging/enabling officers for whom they have responsibility to participate
5. Assuming an editorial role in panel reports
6. Announcing the outcome of the exercise
The makeup and role of the ScARF Steering Group will be periodically reviewed and is composed of the following individuals:
Stephen Carter BSc PhD MIFA
Stephen Carter is a Director of Headland Archaeology Ltd, based in its Edinburgh Office. Doctoral research in Environmental Archaeology at the University of London Institute of Archaeology was followed by a move to Scotland in 1989 where he initially worked on specialist analyses of archaeological sediments. With the creation of Headland Archaeology in 1996, his role has shifted to archaeological project management, focussing on Environmental Impact Assessment, and business management with a particular interest in professional development. He is currently the President of Archaeology Scotland (the Council for Scottish Archaeology) and a Trustee of the Council for British Archaeology.
David Clarke BA PhD FSA FSA Scot
David Clarke joined the National Museums of Scotland, in their previous form as National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland, in 1968. He has been Keeper of Archaeology since 1985. During the 1990s he was Head of Exhibitions for the Museum of Scotland Project. He is particularly interested in issues surrounding the presentation of archaeological material in museums. His research interests stretch across Scottish material culture before AD 1100 but also include the history of British archaeology.
Prof. Stephen T. Driscoll BA MSc PhD FSA Scot
Employed since 1992 at the University of Glasgow, Department of Archaeology, Stephen Driscoll was promoted to a Personal Chair in Historical Archaeology in 2005. He founded the Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD) in 1989 and is currently its Research Director. As well as serving as editor of the Scottish Archaeological Journal since 1998 he is also Vice-President of the Glasgow Archaeological Society, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland since 1984 and a member of the Society for Medieval Archaeology since 1985. Research interests span early to late medieval Scotland, with a strong interest in Ireland. Research projects include being Team Leader of the Strathearn Environs and Royal Forteviot (SERF), a multidisciplinary research project started in 2006 and expected to run until 2011 in the first instance.
Noel Fojut BSc PhD FSA Scot MIFA
Noel Fojut is Head of Archaeology Programmes and Grants Advice, Historic Scotland, Edinburgh. A member of Historic Scotland's Inspectorate since 1980, Noel has undertaken extensive fieldwork for HS in most parts of Scotland, led on rural land use and twice been in charge of archaeology funding, 1982-1987 and 2006-present. This has given him an overview of Scottish archaeological research in action. As well as long-standing research following his PhD on Shetland brochs, his research interests include all aspects of prehistoric (and later) Shetland archaeology, the archaeology of mountain/marginal areas, sustainability and the culture/nature conservation dialogue. An enthusiastic advocate of secondments, Noel spent 2004 in Strasbourg, working on the new European Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society.
Shannon Fraser MA Dip.Post-Ex PhD FSA Scot MIFA
Shannon Fraser is the National Trust for Scotland's Archaeologist for eastern Scotland, a post she has held since 2001. Prior to this she was the Director of the Council for Scottish Archaeology. An Honorary Research Fellow of the University of Aberdeen, Shannon is Convenor of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland's Research Committee. Her research interests focus on the interrelationship of the natural and cultural landscape and the human body, and on the materiality of the past; she has published on these themes in both neolithic and post-medieval contexts. She established the National Trust for Scotland's research excavations at a complex of early prehistoric sites on the Crathes Castle Estate in Aberdeenshire, and is currently engaged in programmes of research on late Renaissance palaces in their designed landscapes, and on 18th century 'Sublime' landscapes.
Julie Gibson BA FSA Scot
Julie Gibson is the County Archaeologist for Orkney. She is also a part-time lecturer for Orkney College, one of the partners forming the UHI Millennium Institute that offers Higher Education including at post-graduate level throughout the Highlands and Islands and beyond. She was actively involved in the creation of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Area Research Agenda. Her main research interests are in the uses of archaeology for rural development and issues related to coastal erosion. Julie is the Association of Local Government Archaeology Officers (Scotland) representative to this committee.
Simon Gilmour MA PhD FSA FSA Scot MIFA
Simon Gilmour is the Director of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. An expert in the Iron Age of the Atlantic seaboard, Simon obtained a first class degree from Edinburgh University Archaeology Department in 1994 and a PhD in 2000. He taught in Edinburgh University Archaeology Department for several years as a PhD student and as an Honorary Fellow of the University, and recently had his Honorary Fellowship continued for a further three years. Currently Vice President of Archaeology Scotland, Simon worked for the former Council for Scottish Archaeology in various positions, including as Shorewatch Project Manager which went on to develop into the SCAPE project in St Andrews. He has directed several important archaeological projects in Scotland and worked on others further afield in Romania and Syria, and was employed by the RCAHMS for four years in their aerial survey programme and national database. He was an on-site Project Manager in the construction industry for two years, before taking up his present post in March 2007.
Roger Mercer OBE MA FSA FSA Scot FRSE HonMIFA
Having worked as an Inspector of Ancient Monuments from 1969, Roger Mercer was appointed as a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh in 1974 until 1989. In 1990 he became the Secretary (Chief Executive) of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. A specialist in the European Neolithic and Bronze Age, cultural resource management and prehistoric warfare, he has conducted excavations of prehistoric sites across Scotland and England. He has also completed field surveys of Caithness, Cheviot, Dumfriesshire and Dartmoor. A former Vice-President and Treasurer of both the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and the Prehistoric Society, he has also served as Vice-President of the Council for British Archaeology, and from 2005 to 2008 was President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Roger served on the Ancient Monuments board for Scotland from 1988 to 2003 and the RAE panel for archaeology from 2001 to 2003. A former director of SCRAN (Scottish Cultural Resources Access Network) from 1997 to 2004, he is also an honorary professor of the Departments of Archaeology at Edinburgh and Durham
Diana Murray MA FSA FSA Scot MIFA
Diana Murray is the Secretary (Chief Executive) of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. She has an MA in Archaeology and Anthropology from Cambridge University and has been employed by RCAHMS since 1976. In 1977 she was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1986. She was elected chair of the Institute of Field Archaeologists, the professional body for archaeological practice in Britain, from 1995-6. Diana also set up the Register of Archaeological Organisations, which helps to set and maintain standards for the profession. She has lectured and published extensively on information systems for archives and the importance of public access to such data.
Brendan O'Connor BA DPhil FSA FSA Scot
Dr Brendan O'Connor is Treasurer of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and represents it on the Steering Group because of the Society's responsibilities for funding and administering the project. He is also a specialist in Bronze Age metalwork.
Prof. Ian Ralston MA PhD FSA FSA Scot FRSE MIFA
Ian Ralston joined Edinburgh University's Department of Archaeology in 1985, having previously been employed since 1974 at Aberdeen University. In 1998, he was promoted to a personal Chair in Later European Prehistory. His interests include the European Iron Age, Scottish archaeology of all periods, and the development of applied archaeology. His main field project at present is in central France, where he is involved in large-scale excavations around the city of Bourges. He led Edinburgh University's Centre for Field Archaeology from 1990 until 2000. Ian has held a number of senior administrative roles, and in 2004 he was appointed as Chair of the Treasure Trove Advisory Panel (now the Scottish Archaeological Finds Advisory Panel), and is presently Chairman of the Standing Committee for Archaeology. He is also a Vice-President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, a past president of the Council for Scottish Archaeology, and was also formerly Chairman of the Institute of Field Archaeologists. In 2006 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Ian maintains an active involvement in this sector through Edinburgh Research and Innovation, and is also non-executive Chairman of CFA Archaeology Ltd.
Robin Turner BA FSA FSAScot MIFA
Robin Turner is the Head of Archaeology at the National Trust for Scotland. As well as his Trust duties, Robin is Vice Chair of the Built Environment Forum Scotland and of the SCAPE Trust for coastal archaeology, and a trustee of the Historic Rural Settlement Trust. He was Honorary Editor of the archaeological journal Discovery and Excavation in Scotland between 1996 and 2006. Robin has a broad interest in the archaeology and built heritage of Scotland, and has special interests in the archaeology of standing buildings, gardens archaeology, marine archaeology and the care of Scotland's cultural landscapes. He led the team that saw the World Heritage status of St Kilda extended to include the cultural landscape, and is a key player on the Scottish Landscape Forum. Robin is committed to increasing the involvement of volunteers and of local people in the conservation and appreciation of Scotland's historic environment.
