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Having completed a PhD in Landscape Archaeology at the University of Leicester in 1993 on the evolution of the sand-dune system and landscape characteristics of Lindisfarne, he went to work as a research fellow in Aix-en-Provence with joint CNRS/Université de Provence laboratory, the Centre Camille Jullian. This part of the European Union funded Populus project considered methodologies in Mediterranean landscape Archaeology. He was responsible for the landscape reconstruction working party, and co-edited the volume on Environmental Reconstruction in Mediterranean Landscape Archaeology.
After the Mediterranean, the Caribbean beckoned, and after two years in Jamaica; teaching anything and everything from Human Evolution to the archaeology of Slavery, Kevin returned to Aix where he developed landscape projects with French colleagues on the Ste Victoire Mountain and in the French Alps.
Since arriving at York, Kevin has developed his interests in prehistoric landscape archaeology, and human-environment interaction in the Alps and the Mediterranean - projects within these themes have resulted in a number of publications, including major single-authored book published by CUP.
His second area of interest relates to the politics (in its broadest sense) of heritage conservation and display, his book on this subject, The Representation of the Past, was published in 1992 by Routledge and is now available as an e-book.
My core chronological interests cover the early to middle Holocene (from the Mesolithic through to the Bronze Age). More specifically, as a landscape archaeologist, with a background in Geoarchaeology, my research considers the variation in human interaction with, and impacts on the environment, and responses to environmental change. The geographical context for this research is firmly situated within the northern Mediterranean and the Alps. My fieldwork experience includes the excavation and publication of multi-period sites, covering the Mesolithic through to protohistoric periods.
I have established an international reputation for work on high altitude landscapes, with two major projects investigating the long term history of human activity in the Alps. One of the first to take a fully diachronic approach to Alpine landscapes, with my collaborators, we have used an innovative combination of survey, excavation and palaeoecological methods to establish full Holocene sequences of activity, and has used these to understand the changing use and perception of these dramatic landscapes over the long term.
One of the cornerstones of this research has been the commitment to integrate geoarchaeological methods within a theoretically informed approach to landscape and society. Focussed in particular on the contribution of soils and sediments, my arguments for a ‘Cultural Geoarchaeology’ have achieved a high profile through a series of papers in international journals.
I direct the MA in Landscape Archaeology - This course offers a unique perspective on landscape archaeology, focusing on human ecology and the interactions of people with their environments. It takes you beyond isolated archaeological sites, buildings or artefacts to explore their context in the wider landscape. The first term engages with the development of Landscape Archaeology as a discipline, whilst the second terms presents and discusses a series of case studies from around the world, focussing on prehistoric (Mesolithic - Bronze Age) and protohistoric case studies.
Contibuted to display panels in Ecrins National Park visitor centre, Vallouise, France.
Member of scientific committte for, and participated in the museum display "Premier Bergers des Alpes", Musee Dauphinois, Grenoble, France.