About
I am a Lecturer in Geography (Environmental Change) at Bath Spa University, UK. I’m also a part-time PhD student at Cardiff University, where I’m studying the ecological impact of new island settlements, in particular in the Western Isles of Scotland.
I believe that archaeology, even the very detailed stuff, is for sharing, and so the results of my archaeomalacological analyses can be searched in this database, and (where appropriate) appear on the South West Britain Palaeobiodiversity Maps These two need updating though!
I am a member of Guerilla Archaeology, a collective who organise archaeology-based public engagement at surprising venues. I am also a co-organiser of Day of Archaeology,and an editor (and project director) of WikiArc, a collaborative online reference tool for archaeologists, and an editor of Kid Vinyl, a e-zine about music.
My Publications
Law, M., 2013. [Book Review] “What Has Nature Ever Done For Us?” by Tony Juniper. Geographical, 85 (4), p. 63.
Evans, J.G., Matthew Law, and Nigel Thew, 2012. Stability and flux in the dune environment, in Niall Sharples, The Beaker-period and Early Bronze Age settlement at Sligeanach, Cill Donnain, in Mike Parker Pearson, ed. From Machair to Mountains: archaeological survey and excavation in South Uist. Oxford: Oxbow. pp. 250-253.
Law, M., 2012. Shellfish and coastal exploitation, in Niall Sharples, The Beaker-period and Early Bronze Age settlement at Sligeanach, Cill Donnain, in Mike Parker Pearson, ed. From Machair to Mountains: archaeological survey and excavation in South Uist. Oxford: Oxbow. pp. 247-250.
Law, M., 2011. Zooarchaeology on the Internet: a view from Britain, The SAA Archaeological Record, 11 (1), 11-14. (Read online)
Law, M., and Jessica Winder, 2009. Different rates of survival of right and left valves of european oyster (Ostrea edulis L.) from archaeological sites in Britain, Archaeo+Malacology Newsletter 16, 1-3. (PDF)
Law, M., 2009. For the sake of the worms, British Archaeology, 108, 36-38 (Online)
Law, M., 2009. Shell pendant, in Reg Jackson, Excavations at Old Council House, Corn Street, Bristol, 2005. Bristol and Avon Archaeology 22. 68
Law, M., Guy Hunt, and David Connolly, 2009. Building a Website for Your Project, BAJR Guide 22, (PDF // Wiki text version)
Conference Presentations
2013
“Day of Archaeology: large-scale collaborative digital archaeology”, invited paper (co-authored with Andrew Dufton, Stu Eve, Tom Goskar, Pat Hadley, Jess Ogden, and Lorna Richardson) presented at Society for Historical Archaeology conference, Leicester, UK, January 2013
2012
“The Archaeology of Digital Abandonment”, invited paper (co-authored with Colleen Morgan) presented at Digital Engagement in Archaeology conference, UCL, UK, November 2012
“Littoral grazing by sheep: direct evidence from dental calculus”, poster presented at the Association for Environmental Archaeology Spring Conference, Plymouth, UK, April 2012.
2011
“PEACE – Postgraduate Environmental Archaeology and Community Engagement”, short paper and poster presented at TAG, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK, December 2011 (with Jacqui Mulville)
“Beach detritus as a cultural resource in island societies”, paper presented at TAG (Theoretical Archaeology Group), University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK, December 2011
“PEACE – Postgraduate Environmental Archaeology and Community Engagement”, poster presented at AHRC public engagement event, London, UK, September 2011 (with Jacqui Mulville)
“Bryozoa and British Archaeology”, poster presented at QRA Postgraduate Symposium, Durham University, UK, August 30th – September 1st, 2011
2010
“Snails, Other Invertebrates, and Coastal Archaeology in South West Britain”, paper presented at TAG – Theoretical Archaeology Group, University of Bristol, UK, 17th-19th December 2010.
“Hands on Activities at the National Museum of Wales”, at PEACE – Postgraduate Environmental Archaeology and Community Engagement, at Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK, 1st December 2010
“Land Snails, Sand Dunes and Archaeology in the Outer Hebrides” (joint paper with Nigel Thew), at Hebridean Archaeological Forum, September 2010
“Archaeozoology on the Internet, a view from Britain”, paper presented at ICAZ conference, Paris, August 2010
“Shells from Archaeological Building Materials”, poster presented at ICAZ conference, Paris, August 2010
“The Human Body from Death to Ancient Skeleton”, talk presented at A Pint with the Past, Bristol, UK, 23rd July 2010
2009
“Mapping Bioarchaeological Results from Grey Literature”, poster presented at the 30th Meeting of the Association for Environmental Archaeology, York, UK, September 2009 [view online]
Hi Matthew,
glad you like our website. Is there any way we can contribute any of our content to your Wiki, and vice versa to yours? And if you’re in London any time over the summer, come and see us, and have a look at the site.
All the best
Lorna
Hello, Matthew
It is interesting to see that some of my oyster shell reports are being used. Regarding the right valve survival theory, perhaps I should search out some of the data that I have amassed over the past thirty years from archaeological sites in the south of England, to see if that idea still holds up. I’ll get back to you when I have had a chance to substantiate or refute the original idea.
Get in touch any time if you have questions about oysters or other edible molluscs from excavations. I still work as an archaeomalacological consultant (Oysters etc.) but do not have an internet presence yet under that particular identity. I’m thinking of creating a site or blog with .pdf files of all the published and unpublished oyster material.
I am mostly connecting my interest in marine molluscs and other nature with photography these days. I work as Artistic Nature Photography at http://www.artnaturephotos.co.uk and have a photographic portfolio at http://www.latentlight.com.
I have just started working on a new blog about seashore life using some of the thousands of photographs I have taken of molluscs and other things on beaches. You can find Jessica’s Nature Blog at http://natureinfocus.WordPress.com
I am glad that I came across your site. It has given me the impetus to look at some of my archaeological work again.
Hi Mathew
Just found your site:
“I believe that archaeology, even the very detailed stuff, is for sharing”
Spot on, could not agree more.
I currently live outside of the academic firewall, and I am committed to making research not just available & accessible, but comprehensible, to as many people as possible.
Hi Matthew,
I’m an undergraduate Anthropolgy major at the University of Rhode Island, currently enrolled in an archaeological ethics course.
I’m am currently doing a research project on the effects of eBay and archaeological sites and artifacts and was wondering if you would be willing to put a link to a quick survey I have created.
I have been reading some scholarly articles on the matter and am quite surprised that there isn’t much research going into the matter.
Here is the link to my survey, just in case.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=oR4ppCPNbjPOn_2fjdUDTCgA_3d_3d
thank you so much
-Rita
Hi Matthew,
Just dropping you a comment to let you know that we’ve just opened up round two of our Ancient World in London Bloggers Challenge over at Heritage-Key.com. We’re looking for blogs about the best ancient site in London – it’d be great to see an entry from you!
The best entry this round – picked by a panel of judges at Heritage Key – will receive five books of their choice from Thames & Hudson’s current catalogue. The grand prize is a holiday in Turkey!
http://heritage-key.com/blogs/malcolmj/ancient-world-london-bloggers-challenge-2-most-important-site-london
Thanks!
Malcolm