I have been interested in both science and history since childhood, and though I ended up specializing in science, I remained fascinated by the past. During the final year of my integrated chemistry degree at Oxford University, I was offered a one-off opportunity to work in an archaeology research lab, studying nitrogen isotopes to learn about the diet of Paleolithic humans. Within weeks, I knew it was exactly the type of research I wanted to do; being able to use chemistry to understand our past was a dream come true. I went on to a PhD project that focused on amino acid racemization (also known as amino acid dating) in fossilized shells at Newcastle University. I have been working in amino acid racemization of fossilized materials ever since.

Site Unseen?

Our analysis of bone breakdown at the Star Carr Mesolithic archaeological site in Yorkshire, UK, revealed that sometimes we must act fast to preserve ancient artifacts.