
Professor Mark Gillings
PhD, BSc
Expertise
I am an archaeologist specialising in the field of Landscape Archaeology. His fieldwork focuses upon Prehistoric monumental landscapes and we can harness creative digital approaches to better study and understand them.
Current positions
Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology
Department of Anthropology and Archaeology
Contact
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Biography
With a background in Archaeological Science and PhD in Chemical Analysis, my interests in Landscape Archaeology developed during a series of Postdoctoral Research positions dedicated to realising the potential of the (then) emerging field of Geographical Information Systems. Following my appointment to a lectureship in Landscape Archaeology & GIS at the University of Leicester I have worked at a range of Institutions in combining my research interests in Archaeological Theory, Landscape Archaeology, and GIS in order to explore, exploit and realise the creative synergies and tensions that emerge.
My interest in Prehistoric landscapes developed out of formative early fieldwork experiences in Orkney and I have worked on a range of Prehistoric landscapes from the flood-plains of Hungary to the uplands of Exmoor. It was also prompted by a childhood fascination with the site of Avebury, Wiltshire, whose landscape of monuments and megaliths I have been fortunate enough to explore through a succession of AHRC-funded fieldwork projects with my colleague Prof. Josh Pollard of the University of Southampton.
Over the years my interests in Archaeological Theory have drawn explicitly, and extensively, upon developments in Anthropological thought. Having joined the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology here at Bristol I have the privilege and pleasure of working directly with Anthropologists whose ideas are already sparking new directions in my research and challenging me to rethink my core assumptions about prehistoric people and the worlds they inhabited.
My interest in Prehistoric landscapes developed out of formative early fieldwork experiences in Orkney and I have worked on a range of Prehistoric landscapes from the flood-plains of Hungary to the uplands of Exmoor. It was also prompted by a childhood fascination with the site of Avebury, Wiltshire, whose landscape of monuments and megaliths I have been fortunate enough to explore through a succession of AHRC-funded fieldwork projects with my colleague Prof. Josh Pollard of the University of Southampton.
Over the years my interests in Archaeological Theory have drawn explicitly, and extensively, upon developments in Anthropological thought. Having joined the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology here at Bristol I have the privilege and pleasure of working directly with Anthropologists whose ideas are already sparking new directions in my research and challenging me to rethink my core assumptions about prehistoric people and the worlds they inhabited.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
The Avebury Papers: digitisation, exploration and creative re-use of a uniquely important archaeological archive (Mark Gillings)
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Department of Anthropology and ArchaeologyDates
15/01/2024 to 14/02/2026
Publications
Recent publications
05/09/2024Pinning down the serpent’s tail
Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society Magazine
The Alluvial Geoarchaeology of the Upper River Kennet in the Avebury Landscape: a Monumental Transformation of a Stable Landscape
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society
More than modal? Exploring affect, affordance, invitation and solicitation
Capturing the senses
Alterity, Otherness and Nomad Geometries: New Trajectories for the Interpretation of Late Neolithic Monuments
Cambridge Archaeological Journal
GIS-based visibility analysis
Archaeological Spatial Analysis: A Methodological Guide
Teaching
I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and an experienced academic teacher. My teaching has focused upon all aspects of Archaeological Theory, Archaeological Practice and Landscape Archaeology, with a particular focus upon the teaching of Geomatics and GIScience.
I am currently contibuting teaching to a range of introductory Achaeology units here at Bristol (Discovering the Past; Archaeological Practice), as well as our core second year unit in Social Theory. I lead a specialist final year unit on the Archaeologies of Space, Place & Landscape and actively particiapte in our Archaeology Fieldschool as well as in the field training of our Archaeology & Anthrpology students through my own fieldwork projects.
I have a wealth of experience in programme design and management, having led full review and transformation programmes at a range of institutions, and am an experienced external examiner at both Undergraduate and taught Postgraduate level. I also have direct experince of Quality Assurance processes and procedures, having carried out a range of external Quality Assurance reviews.
I am currently contibuting teaching to a range of introductory Achaeology units here at Bristol (Discovering the Past; Archaeological Practice), as well as our core second year unit in Social Theory. I lead a specialist final year unit on the Archaeologies of Space, Place & Landscape and actively particiapte in our Archaeology Fieldschool as well as in the field training of our Archaeology & Anthrpology students through my own fieldwork projects.
I have a wealth of experience in programme design and management, having led full review and transformation programmes at a range of institutions, and am an experienced external examiner at both Undergraduate and taught Postgraduate level. I also have direct experince of Quality Assurance processes and procedures, having carried out a range of external Quality Assurance reviews.