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Emma Stockley

Archaeology, University of Leicester

Thesis title:

Predicting and Protecting Lithic Landscapes

Working in partnership with Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA), my research will characterise the significance and extent of Dartmoor’s prehistoric subsurface archaeology, to inform future landscape management practices and to raise local and national awareness about this valuable heritage.

Dartmoor’s buried prehistoric archaeology faces significant pressures from the growing scale and frequency of landscape-scale conservation initiatives e.g., afforestation, peatland-restoration, natural flood management, as well as post-Brexit land-management schemes. 

From the first Homo sapiens hunter-gatherers, (~44,000 years ago), to the earliest agriculturalists, (~4500 years ago), stone tools, (lithics), are the dominant source of archaeological evidence – and these are currently excluded from protection by existing agri-environment schemes which focus on upstanding/visible archaeology. 

The transition from hunter-gatherer to farming lifeways has been identified by DNPA as a research priority because so little is known about this period on Dartmoor compared to later prehistoric archaeology. 

In addition to informing land management practices on Dartmoor, my thesis will also explore public engagement in prehistory and fieldwork will involve the highly trained and enthusiastic bank of DNPA volunteers, many of whom live and work on the moor.

Research Area

  • Archaeology
  • Prehistoric Archaeology

Conferences

2022

7th Annual School of Archaeology and Ancient History PhD conference, University of Leicester, online, 3 March  (speaker)

2021

Hallowed turf, perspectives on the conservation of Dartmoor's blanket peat, Dartmoor Society, Tavistock, Devon, 12 November

2019

Nature on your mind, EUROPARC, Jurmala, Latvia, 24 – 26 September

Moor Medieval, Dartmoor National Park Authority, Bovey Tracey, Devon, 29 June (lead conference organiser)

2018

Parishscapes, a celebration, Dartmoor National Park Authority, Bovey Tracey, Devon, 10 March (lead conference organiser)

2017

Victorian Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park Authority, Bovey Tracey, Devon, 11 March (lead conference organiser)

2015

Longhouses and hard lives: Medieval life on Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park Authority, Bovey Tracey, Devon, 19 March (conference organiser)

Public Engagement & Impact

Outreach events

2022

Dartmoor National Park Heritage Festival, Devon, 16 July

Community archaeology excavations and open days

2022

Lustleigh community archaeology excavation, 22 - 26 September (co-director)

Bolberry Down community archaeology test-pit weekend, Devon, 13 - 14 May  

2019

Sanduck Cross Farm community test-pit weekend, Lustleigh, Devon, 24 – 25 April (project lead)

2018

North Hall Manor community excavation and open day, Widecombe-in-the-moor, Devon, 9 – 21 July (project officer)

Old Court House community test-pit event, North Bovey, Devon, 29 May (joint project lead)

2017

Old Pig House community test-pit event, Widecombe-in-the-moor, Devon, 19 November (joint project lead)

North Hall Manor community test-pit weekend, Widecombe-in-the-moor, Devon, 18 – 19 July (project lead)

Vinnimore Community excavation and open day, Bovey Valley, Devon, 24 – 29 April (project lead)

2016

Reading the Hurlers community excavation and open day, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, 13 – 17 September (project lead)

Moor Medieval test-pit day, Bovey Tracey, Devon, 23 April (project lead)

Teaching

2018 – current

Visiting Lecturer (heritage in practice) at the University of Plymouth.

Heritage workshops for members of MED Theatre.

Video games

2021

Voiceover artist for heritage video game (in development), Darkling Room

2019

Heritage advisor and voiceover artist for archaeology video game Blood Circle (in development), Shadow Tor Studios

Exhibitions

2019

In the footsteps of the Victorians, Dartmoor National Park Authority, Bovey Tracey, Devon, 2019 – current (project officer)

2018

Parishscapes, Dartmoor National Park Authority, Princetown, Devon, 2018 (project officer)

2017

Dartmoor, a wild and wondrous region, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, Devon, 22 December 2017 – 1 April 2018 (project officer)

Films

Most recent:

2020

Houndtor, a contested landscape https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlS5nVf2N_A

2019

Living and dying on Medieval Dartmoor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmwRRz0EXPY

Talks

Highlights include:

2020

Moor Medieval – bacteria, buboes and beyond, Dartmoor Education Guides, 16 January

The Bronze Age on Dartmoor, MED Theatre, 17 April

2019

Parishscapes, community heritage on Dartmoor, Dartmoor Society Annual General Meeting, 13 April

Trowels, tithe maps and the ten commandments - exploring community heritage on Dartmoor, Plymouth Archaeological Society, 4 February

2018

P is for projects all over the moor. Q is for questions - what's it all for?, Devon Rural Archive Christmas lecture, 9 December

Parishscapes, community heritage on Dartmoor, Dartmoor Trust Annual General Meeting, 19 November

2017

Trowels, tithe maps and the ten commandments - transforming lives through community heritage, Plymouth Soroptimists, 11 July

Radio

2017

Participated in a discussion panel on BBC Radio Devon about Dartmoor's intangible cultural heritage

2016

Interviewed on BBC Radio Devon about the Reading the Hurlers project

Other Research Interests

  • Community heritage, volunteer participation and public engagement in archaeology
  • The use of heritage in the gaming industry
  • UK National Parks

Memberships

I am a member of Cornwall Archaeological Society, Devon Archaeological Society, the Lithic Studies Society and the Prehistoric Society. 

Education and training

Education
  • University College London, BA Archaeology (Hons) 
Training
  • Mountain First Aid, REC, Plas y Brenin (2022)
  • ILM Level 4, Leadership and Management (2021)
  • Outdoor First Aid (2019)
  • Lantra Award, 4x4 off-road driving (2017)
  • University of Oxford, Law and the Historic Environment (2017)
  • University of Oxford, Accessible Archaeology (2016)

Awards

2022

National semi-finalist, Vitae's Three Minute Thesis competition 

Winner of the University of Leicester's Three Minute Thesis competition 

2021

AHRC M4C Collaborative Doctoral Award studentship (2021 - 2024)

2020

Winner of the Council for British Archaeology's 2020 Archaeological Showreel competition

2019

Winner of 'Best Chief Executive' Award, South West Council's 2019 South West Challenge, (a large-scale role-playing competition for Local Authority staff across the South West of England)

Selected to represent Dartmoor National Park Authority at the 2019 EUROPARC Conference and the Society of National Park Staff's study tour of Latvia, 2019

Moor Medieval project short-listed for the UK National Parks Platinum Award

2018

Parishscapes project short-listed for the UK National Parks Volunteering Awards

Grants

2023

M4C Research Development Fund, to attend the EAA conference, £1,207.74 (lead applicant)

2022

M4C Engagement Fund, Flint-knapping training, £573.77 (lead applicant)

M4C Engagement Fund, Mountain first aid training, £529 (lead applicant)

2021

The Prince's Countryside Fund, Dartmoor Community Resilience Project£10,000 (lead applicant)

iMayflower Masters R&D Studentship Scheme, JUMP Project£10,000 (lead applicant)

iMayflower Masters R&D Studentship Scheme, Exploring gamification in heritage (Game Design MA), £5000 (lead applicant)

iMayflower Masters R&D Studentship Scheme, Exploring gamification in heritage (Heritage MA), £5000 (lead applicant)

iMayflower Virtual Internship, Economic Recovery intern, £500 (lead applicant)

iMayflower Virtual Internship, Heritage intern, £500 (lead applicant)

iMayflower Virtual Internship, 'Virtual reality in protected landscapes' study, £500 (lead applicant)

iMayflower Virtual Internship, Heritage game design, £500 (lead applicant)

2015

Heritage Lottery Fund grant, Reading the Hurlers, £33,700 (lead applicant)

Cornwall Heritage Trust grant, Reading the Hurlers, £2000 (lead applicant)

Cornwall Archaeological Society grant, Reading the Hurlers, £500 (lead applicant)

Caradon Amateur Geology Club grant, Reading the Hurlers, £618 (joint applicant)

Maga Cornish Language Partnership in-kind funding, Reading the Hurlers, £1500 (lead applicant)

Wayside Folk Museum engagement grant, Reading the Hurlers, £130 (lead applicant)

2013

Cornwall Heritage Trust transport grant to deliver creative heritage workshops at The Hurlers stone circles, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, £1000 (lead applicant)


Additional roles

University of Leicester Institute for Environmental Futures seminar series convenor, May 2022 - current

Dartmoor National Park Authority heritage outreach volunteer, July 2022 - current