Archaeology, like other academic disciplines, contributes to global warming as a result of its activities, but as a result of its work in the world of construction, where the bulk of archaeological research takes place, it creates a much bigger impact than most. Extensive travel, the use of (often single-use) resources on site, the large-scale movement of soils and big data processing are examples of the ways in which it affects our environment. But archaeology is also in the unique position of investigating the ways in which past societies changed the landscapes around them in more profound ways than they intended – the environmental disasters of the past – and also the strategies they adopted to cope with natural and humanly-induced environmental change.

Dr Gill Hey will examine the ways in which archaeological practice can be ‘greened up’ and assess whether there are any lessons we can all learn from the past.

About the speaker:

Dr Gill Hey is a Visiting Fellow at Kellogg College, and Honorary Research Associate at the School of Archaeology, University of Oxford.

This event is free and open to all. Refreshments will be served from 5 pm.