The Team

Patricia Duff

Patricia founded ArchaeoLink because she believe the communities in which archaeologists dig can obtain more benefits, educationally and economically than is currently the norm.

Her specific experience enables her to work with archaeologists and local communities to build successful partnerships. She has lived in several countries, travelled extensively and also speaks French and Italian:

Education: Patricia has been involved in education and tourism throughout her career. She read Archaeology at the University ofCambridge as a mature student.

Building cultural tourism: while teaching English in Bahrain Patricia worked with archaeologists excavating the ancient Dilmun sites. Using knowledge gained, and with the support of the Governement of Bahrain, she set up Bahrain Explored, the first inbound tour operation in the country, to show people traditional Arabic culture and Bahrain's 5000 years of history.

Social and economic development: when living in the Caribbean, she became involved in social issues helping young people at risk, resumed teaching and administrated a small school. Later, in France, she taught computer skills to both children and adults.

"Our primary mandate is to discover the stakeholders' vision and to facilitate achievement of their goals."

Lucy Walker

Lucy is an archaeologist and landscape historian, with a background in developer-funded and research fieldwork in UK and Italy, adult education and archaeological tourism. She brings a range of experience to Archaeolink:

Archaeological tourism in Britain and Europe. She set up and ran her own company working in Britain, researching and writing teaching materials for adults, employing local experts and guides, liaising with hotels and transport companies; she also creates and leads tours to Europe.
Working with Local Government, both as a former city councillor with a special interest in Community Development, and as a primary school governor with responsibility for ‘extended schooling’ - education beyond the classroom.
Community engagement. Lucy is a founder member and chair of the Steering Group of the HLF funded Mill Road History Project in Cambridge, and as Associate with the Pacitti Company Think Tank, she works with community groups, artists, writers and scientists to engage local communities with their local archaeology and museum collections.

“There is huge public interest in archaeology and it is vitally important that we find ways to enable local communities to benefit from this. Our role is to develop creative partnerships to enable this to happen.”

Jane Renfrew

Jane Renfrew M.A, PhD,F.S.A,F.S.A.(Scot), palaeoethnobotanist and prehistorian, has taught archaeology in the Universities of Sheffield, Southampton and Cambridge and has just retired after 28 years as Fellow and College Lecturer in Lucy Cavendish College,Cambridge.

She has been on excavations in Greece, Egypt and Iran, and travelled widely round the world visiting archaeological sites.

She has served as a Trustee of the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, and as a Syndic of the Cambridge University Botanic Garden. She has been a school govenor, a member of the Cambridgeshire Police Authority and chairman of her local residents association.

Sarah Fox

Sarah graduated from the University of Liverpool with a BA (hons) Archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean following this with an MSc Early Hominid Studies. She then worked as a researcher at the university for two years before qualifying as a TEFL teacher.

She taught at the University of Tunis for four years and also worked for the British Council and AMIDEAST. While in Tunisia she travelled the country spending time with the Bedouin, learning much about the culture and history of Tunisia from Tunisian archaeologists as well as from her own travels. She taught in Italy for two years before returning to England where she gained her PGCE at Homerton College. She has since taught in both primary and secondary schools, and was invited to be a lead teacher for science for Norfolk. Her role necessitated visiting schools, supporting teachers while delivering new materials and teaching techniques.

She is currently Head of Lower School Science which entailed writing the Science course for and teaching years 5 to 8 pupils including GCSE and A level students. Last year she completed an Advanced Diploma in Archaeology with ICE focusing her research on Tunisian archaeology.

Rachel Bingham

Rachel has a long standing interest and involvement in community work and engagement within the heritage and archaeological sector and beyond , with particular experience of working with children, schools and special needs groups.

Since graduating from Trinity College Cambridge with a degree in Archaeology and Anthropology she has worked as a community project assistant and events organiser with the National Trust working to engage and support a diverse range of groups and individuals from the local area with their local National Trust properties.

She has a particular interest in the use of arts projects to connect and inspire different groups and open up the discipline and has experience of working with artists in this capacity alongside archaeological excavation experience in many parts of the world. She strongly believes in the value and importance of engaging and involving the local community with archaeological work and hopes to continue supporting such essential projects in the future.

Gemma Tully

Gemma has been working in the fields of collaborative heritage and museums for over ten years. Her PhD research focused on developing new strategies for the presentation of Egypt – ancient and modern – in European museums, based on consultation with diverse Egyptian communities and European museum visitors and in 2013, Gemma completed a post-doctoral research project which explored the diversity of ‘meanings’ the Theban Necropolis (Egypt) holds for its varied stakeholders.

Gemma's museum work included the curation of an exhibition, 'Re-imagining Egypt'. This brought together artefacts from Egypt's past, from prehistory to the present, with contemporary artworks inspired by these items and made by a contemporary Egyptian artist (Khaled Hafez) and by children from the local community.

Gemma is a freelance community archaeologist and directs the community component of the Humboldt University’s Archaeological Mission to Mograt Island, Sudan. She is also a regular guest lecturer in Museums and Heritage at Master’s and Undergraduate level. She is committed to promoting greater collaboration between local communities, excavation teams, researchers and museums staff. Like all ArchaeoLink Team members, Gemma believes that greater dialogue between different stakeholders in archaeological heritage will enhance both the quality of experience and the quality of knowledge production for all involved.

Paola Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco

Paola is a Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Cambridge McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. She has a Ph.D. in World Cultures/World from the University of California, Merced and a bachelor and master degree in archaeology and a post-graduate specialization in Late Antiquity and Middle Ages from the University of Rome La Sapienza. She has been involved in several international excavations and 3D digital projects (virtual museums and 3D applications in research and education) in France, Italy, Turkey, and China.

Her current research aims at increasing museum visitors experience through the use of technologies and improve our understanding of how people perceive artefacts through different media. This project will clarify the role of 3D technologies in the perception of archaeological artefacts; specifically how 3D technologies help overcome problems encountered if artefacts cannot be touched in a museum and how 3D replicas can be used to help improve visitor experience of authenticity and understanding.

Stella Christou

Born and raised in Athens, Greece, Stella always had a strong passion for archaeology. She has travelled and worked in Europe and the Middle East, participating in archaeological excavations as well as conducting her own ethnographic fieldwork.

Stella studied Archaeology and Anthropology at University College London (UCL). Her thesis focused on the anthropology of contemporary Greek society, culminating in various projects concerning the effects of the economic crisis on social and cultural life.

After her degree, she worked in research projects, most recently in an ethnolinguistic study of Crete. She believes that in the current period of economic uncertainty, archaeologists should persevere in preserving local archaeological heritage; and the first step towards achieving this would be by promoting stronger ties with native communities.

Hannah Sainsbury

Travelling around Europe and Asia at various points in her life has allowed Hannah to visit many great archaeological sites around the world including in Cambodia, Thailand and Italy.

In the past, she spent time in both Vietnam and Nepal teaching English and Social Studies. She also has experience in event management and worked, as a volunteer, with the exploited and people at risk.

In 2012, having been involved in excavations around Great Britain and Turkey, she graduated with a BA in Archaeology and Anthropology from the University of Cambridge.

Hannah firmly believes in creating a stronger link between archaeological sites/excavations and the local community.