Ashley Lingle is an Icon accredited conservator interested in archaeological heritage, environmental monitoring, preventative conservation, sustainable conservation practice, digital preservation, conservation pedagogy, and conservation outreach.
She holds a BA in anthropology from Tulane University in the United States. Following this, Ashley worked as an archaeologist and repatriation officer for Statistical Research Inc. in Los Angeles, California. She then went on to a MA and MSc from University College London in conservation. After working as a freelance conservator, Ashley undertook a PhD from Cardiff University focused on the use of aqueous polymers on archaeological earthen substrates. After working for Cardiff Conservation Services for a year, she lectured at Cardiff University on the BSc and MSc programs in conservation from 2020 until 2022.
Ashley currently leads the Conservation and Exhibition Program of the tel site at Vésztő-Mágor, Hungary (2021 to present). Previously, she was Head of Conservation for the Çatalhöyük Research Project, Turkey (2012 to 2020), where she contributed to the UNESCO World Heritage Inscription and oversaw Periodic Monitoring for the Neolithic site.
Ashley joined the department in York in 2022.
PGT Admission Tutor (2022-)
Through my experiences as a conservation professional, I have been fortunate to explore themes of reflexive practice and analytical innovations. I like to examine ways conservators are able to critically evaluate interventions and adapt treatments to evolving contexts. Central to this, I am interested in understanding how conservators gaugue treatment perceptions relative to actualized outcomes. I aim to be holistic in my research approach, through not only looking at the role of material science and analysis in creating evidenced based conservation strategies, but also respecting empirical practice and stakeholder voices. In my work, I have found that blending these interests has given me insight into the gap between laboratory ideals and the implementation of materials in conservation practice.
My work with archaeological earthen architecture has afforded me the opportunity to explore these research interests, and highlighted the importance of preventative conservation strategies. At Çatalhöyük, working with partners, I developed novel approaches to integrate structural monitoring with environmental data to inform site interventions and maintenance. At Vésztő-Mágor, we are developing new approaches to document the depositional environment to aid in passively stabilizing exposed archaeological surfaces.
(2021 – Present) Conservation and Exhibition Program of Vésztő-Mágor, Hungary
(2010-2020) The Çatalhöyük Research Project
2022 Foundation for the Study and Preservation of Tells in the Prehistoric Old World (FSPT). Conservation and Exhibition Program of Vésztő-Mágor. Co-PI
2016 AIA Site Preservation Grant. Çatalhöyük Digital Preservation Project. Co-PI
Henderson, J., Lingle, A., and Parkes, P. (2022 Forthcoming) Levels of Competence. In Conservation 360 Education and Pedagogy. UPV Universitat Politècnica de València
Lingle, A (Forthcoming 2022) Conservation at Çatalhöyük: Reflections on Practice. In: Çatalhöyük Excavations, The 2009-2017 Seasons. Hodder (ed). British Institute at Ankara Monograph Series
Schotsmans, E., Busacca, G., Benisson-Chapman, L., Lingle, A., Milella, M., Tibbetts, B., Tsoraki, C.,Vasić, M.,Veropoulidou, R. (2022). New insights on commemoration of the dead through mortuary and architectural use of pigments at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Scientific Reports 12, Article number: 4055
Campiani, A., Lingle, A., Lercari, N. (2022) A Diversified Approach to Earthen Architecture Conservation: Digital Site Monitoring and Spatial Analysis At Çatalhöyük. In Lercari, N., Wendrich, W., Porter, B., Burton, M. and T.E. Levy (eds.), At-Risk Heritage in a Digital Age. Equinox Publishing, UK
Lingle, A., Seifert, J., Baranski, M., Betz, B., Bucacca, G., Haddow, S., Issavi, J., Tung, B., Vasic, M., Wolfhagen, J. (2021). Integrating conservation in practice at Çatalhöyük, an inter-team perspective. In: Communities at Work: the making of Çatalhöyük edited by Hodder and Tsoraki (eds). British Institute at Ankara Monograph Series
Lingle, A. and Henderson, J. (2020) Preserving the Archaeological Archive. Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology 2ndedition. Simth, C. (ed). Springer
Henderson, J., Lingle, A. (March 2020). Preventive Conservation on Archaeological Sites: UK Policy and Practice. Journal of Chinese Cultural Heritage.
Campiani, A., Lingle, A., Lercari, N. (2019) Spatial analysis and heritage conservation: Leveraging 3-D data and GIS for monitoring earthen architecture, Journal of Cultural Heritage
Schotsmans, E. M. J., Toksoy‐Köksal, F., Brettell, R. C., Bessou, M., Corbineau, R., Lingle, A. M., Bouquin, D., Blanchard, P., Becker, K. Castex, D., Knüsel, C. J., Wilson, A. S., and Chapoulie, R. (2019) ‘Not All That Is White Is Lime’—White Substances from Archaeological Burial Contexts: Analyses and Interpretations. Archaeometry.
Henderson, J. and Lingle, A. (2018) Preventative Conservation in Archaeological Sites. In Varela, S. (ed). The Encyclopedia of Archaeological Sciences, Wiley-Blackwell
Undergraduate 3rd year Assessed Seminar: Sustaining the Historic Environment
Approaches to Conservation
Issues in Cultural Heritage Conservation
In addition to her fieldwork, Ashley serves on the Icon Conferences Committee as the access and inclusion chair. She is also a member of the IIC Awards and Grants Committee.
June 2022: Lercari, Lingle, and Campiani. Developing and Testing Environmental Risk Mapping and Spatial Analysis for site monitoring: The Case of Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Given at TERRA the 13th World Congress on Earthen Architecture. Santa Fe, New Mexico
June 2022: Lingle. Reflective conservation in practice: informing consolidation strategies at Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Given at TERRA the 13th World Congress on Earthen Architecture. Santa Fe, New Mexico
May 2022: Henderson and Lingle. Touch Decisions. Paper presented at the American Institute for Conservation 50th Annual Conference. Los Angeles, California.
October 2020: Lingle. Did it work? Gauging the success of preservation methods at
Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Presentation at the Earth Building UK and Ireland’s 12th annual conference has the theme ‘Building Skills and Building Skills’. Virtual event.
December 2019: Lingle and Perry. Current approaches to preservation and interpretation at Çatalhöyük. Paper given at 14th International ANAMED Annual Symposium titled “Heritage, World Heritage, and the Future: Perspectives on Scale, Conservation, and Dialogue”. Koç University, Istanbul.
April 2018: Lingle, Lercari, and Campiani. Terrestrial Laser Scanning and Conservation of at-risk World Heritage. Paper given at the Society of American Archaeology Annual Conference, Washington D.C.
April 2018: Campiani, Lercari, and Lingle Analytical Models for At-Risk Heritage Conservation and 3D GIS. Paper given at the Society of American Archaeology Annual Conference, Washington D.C.
December 2017: Nordgren and Lingle. 3D Digital Documentation in Archaeological Conservation, Revolution or Evolution. Paper given at TAG 2017.
September 2017: Lingle, A. and Lercari, N. Çatalhöyük Digital Preservation Program: Pilot Program in Integrated Digital Monitoring Strategies. ICOM Committee for Conservation, ICOM-CC: 18th Triennial Meeting, Copenhagen. 04-08 September 2017: preprints. ICOM-CC.
March 2017: Reflexive Conservation at Çatalhöyük – Why Primal? Paper given at the Society of American Archaeology Annual Conference, Vancouver, Canada.