Council

Dr Manda Forster PhD FSAScot MCIfA (2020, re-elected 2023)

Member of Council

Manda Forster is the Director of Operations at DigVentures, a social enterprise specialising in community focussed archaeology and heritage projects. Working as part of a dispersed team, Manda relocated to the west coast of Scotland in 2017, having spent several years working at the University of Birmingham and Birmingham Archaeology, followed by a stint at the Chartered Institute of Archaeologists promoting the work of the institute. Throughout her degree at Bradford University, Manda spent summers digging in Shetland, inspiring her to pursue a PhD researching early medieval trade in the North Atlantic, specialising in soapstone artefacts of Shetland, Greenland and Norway. Currently, Manda coordinates business delivery at DigVentures, as well as developing and managing projects in Scotland. Most recently, Manda directed investigations at Coldingham, working with community participants to look for evidence of an early medieval monastery in the centre of the village. Manda has a keen interest in post excavation processes and archives management, recently writing guidance for the management of digital data in archaeological archives in partnership with CIfA and supported by Historic England and the Archaeological Archives Forum.

Photograph of Dr Manda Forster