Dr Richard Lee
Collections Development Officer
Profile
Biography
Richard is the Collections Development Officer in the Archaeology Data Service, a role he started in June 2024. The role aims to expand both the ADS partnerships and its income streams by extending its accredited digital archive service to the archaeological profession. Prior to this his first role in the department was as Research Associate on MAEASaM: Mapping Africa’s Endangered Archaeological Sites and Monuments’ project led by Dr. Stephanie Wynne-Jones.
Richard is a field archaeologist with a particular interest in prehistoric landscapes in upland and desert zones. His first excavation was at the Upper Palaeolithic site of Boxgrove, in West Sussex (1995) and his most recent in Tigray, Ethiopia, and the depts 2024 field school at Skipsea, East Yorkshire. Over the last 25 years he has undertaken numerous seasons of fieldwork in Yemen, Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Benin, Qatar, and the UEA, across all chronological periods. He also spent ten years working in the British commercial archaeology sector.
He was also Project Officer at the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) as part of their English Heritage funded Engaging with the Historic Environment project (2008-10). This researched links between higher education archaeological provision and regional community archaeology & heritage groups across England.
Richard received his BA Egyptian Archaeology in 1997, and MA Research Methods for the Humanities in 1998, both at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. His PhD was undertaken here at the University of York, Dept of Archaeology, exploring the relationship that obsidian played in the first millennium BC relationship between Ethiopia and Yemen, which was awarded in 2023.
Teaching
Undergraduate
2022-23: Undergraduate Year 1: Themes for Historical Archaeology (Medieval Africa) seminar (GTA).
2021-22: Undergraduate Year 1: Themes for Historical Archaeology (Medieval Africa) seminar (GTA).
University of York, Centre for Lifelong Learning: 2009- 2011, 2003 – 2004. Designing and teaching curriculum for part-time Egyptian & Middle Eastern Archaeology course; creating curriculum & audio/visual components of VLE distance learning course Online Archaeology ; Board of Studies non-accredited tutor representative (2008-10).
University of Leeds, Centre for Lifelong Learning: Designing curriculum and teaching accredited Egyptian Archaeology (2004/5).
