Meet the MAFS Team

Derek is a professional archaeologist with over fifty years of experience in the field. As lead archaeologist, Derek is responsible for the on-site direction of the excavations at Lindores Abbey.

He is a specialist in medieval pottery, with extensive research interests in monastic archaeology and medieval hospitals. He studied at the Dorset Institute of Higher Education (Weymouth), gaining a Certificate in Practical Archaeology (1978).  From 1976 -1980, he worked on archaeological sites throughout Scotland and England, including one of the first urban rescue excavations in Scotland in advance of the Elgin Relief road. In 1980, he joined the Urban Archaeology Unit, the predecessor of SUAT and from 1982-1985 he was a Senior Supervisor for SUAT on several major excavations before being appointed Field Officer. From 2014-2019 single handily excavated Perth’s Carmelite Friary in advance of the site’s redevelopment!

Alison is Professor of Medieval History at the University of St Andrews where she teaches modules on monasticism and archaeology. She has twelve years of experience in field work at monastic sites in Scotland, Germany, Ireland, and Iceland.  She is the director of the St Andrews Centre for Archaeology, Technology, and History and Principal Investigator for Word of Mouth: Embodied Stories of Medieval Women at Work -- an AHRC-funded research project that integrates history, archaeology, and archaeological science. 

Before coming to St Andrews in 2020, Alison was a professor of history at The Ohio State University. At OSU, Alison developed (with her former student Melissa Clarke) a learning abroad programme in collaboration with The Blackfriary Archaeology Field School in Trim, Ireland. Alison served at Resident Director of the OSU-Blackfriary from 2013-2019.

Dar is based at Brandeis University, MA and works alongside Derek as co-lead archaeologist. Dar is our team leader for digital archaeology -- responsible for teaching our students about the newest technologies for survey and recording. 

Dar has over twenty years of experience in field work. She is an archaeologist and historian with broad interests and experience. She is a leading expert on ancient and early Byzantine Christianity of the eastern Mediterranean world (circa 300-1000 CE) with a specialization in the archaeology and history of monasticism. Her interests have now shifted to monasticism and monastic landscapes in Scotland. Her work combines texts, material culture, and theory to examine the history of monastic makers of late antique objects and spaces.

Kimm is our landscape, heritage, and engagement lead. 

She is a historian of late medieval monastic and religious life, with particular expertise in late medieval Scottish monasticism, and medieval women religious. Her work looks at the development of monasteries in medieval landscapes, as well as theoretical and experiential approaches. She has experience in accessible heritage, especially how neurodivergent people experience places, and heritage.