About Us

Heritage and Archaeological Research Practice Ltd are a Social Enterprise that aims to promote and enhance public understanding and awareness of archaeological and cultural heritage issues. We specialise in archaeological field schools and provide bespoke tours and experiences that directly support local community groups and herotage organisations.

We are actively involved with a number of local communities with an aim to develop a better understanding of our cultural heritage and how to successfully appreciate, preserve and publicise archaeology and cultural heritage.

As a Social Enterprise HARP are a not-for-profit organisation, and thus, any ‘profit’ generated from the work and projects undertaken by HARP will be reinvested into events and activities in order to provide training opportunities and outreach events for the public.

We are based in Edinburgh and are involved in projects throughout Scotland, the rest of the UK and Europe.

We offer a number of services to a variety of different groups including local community groups, developers, land owners, students and educational institutions. We have a dedicated pool of specialists with a range of experience and skill sets, and our business model allows us to enhance our team with relevant specialists on a project by project basis.

We produce archaeological reports for all of our project activity, whether it be works for development control, training excavations, or community outreach. You can view our completed reports from previous projects here.

Meet the Team:

Ian Hill

BSc MSc - Director

Ian has been working in the heritage sector since graduating from the University of Edinburgh in 2005. He has worked in the commercial archaeology sector in both the UK and Australia with particular experience in Scotland working on sites ranging from the Mesolithic period to the 20th Century, and has a strong working knowledge of development control archaeology in Scotland. Throughout his undergraduate and Masters his research areas were in the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East and Ian has been involved in a number of research excavations in Cyprus. Research and training excavations have been a large part of Ian's career and he has taught students on excavations in Scotland, France and Cyprus, as well as taking part on research projects in the Middle East, South East Asia and Australia. Ian has worked alongside Archaeology Scotland on community heritage projects, and is involved in a number of research and training projects based in Scotland. His current research focus is on Post-Medieval Scotland.

Ian is the Director of HARP and our principal Field Archaeologist. He is responsible for project management of all of HARP's projects and also takes an active role in our field schools and field projects.

Michelle Gamble

BA MA PhD - Bioarchaeologist and Field Archaeologist

Michelle Gamble anyslysing human bones in the lab

Michelle comes to HARP with over twenty years of experience in the heritage sector. Following a degree in Classical Archaeology, she has commercial excavation experience in both the UK and Canada, and has worked on a number of research excavations in the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East and Sudan. While her PhD focussed on the analysis of prehistoric human skeletal remains from Cyprus, she has subsequently examined skeletal material from sites from various time periods in Turkey, Qatar and the UK and most recently held a Post Doc researching new methods of detecting malaria in archaeological skeletal material. Michelle’s research interests include health, disease and medicine in the past, mortuary archaeology and the impact of field schools in archaeological pedagogy.

Michelle is HARP’s osteologist and works on our research projects and field schools where she is able to help train students and volunteers in all aspects of archaeological excavation and human remain analysis.

Tom lucas

MA MSc – Field Archaeologist and Archaeological Geophysicist

Since his graduation in 2005 from the University of Edinburgh, Tom has worked within the Heritage Sector across the UK, the American Southwest, and Cyprus. After several years working in commercial archaeology in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and gaining a specialism in Archaeological Geophysics with an MSc from the University of Bradford,  Tom relocated to the US and spent ten years in CRM across the US Southwest as a Registered Professional Archaeologist and Principle Investigator in multiple states. Tom also taught field schools in the US and maintained an active interest in Cypriot Prehistory, returning to Europe to teach in both Cyprus and Scotland over the past few years. Tom is the St Albans Museums archaeologist working across both the Verulamium (Roman) Museum, and St Albans Museum and Gallery.

Samira Hill

MA MSc - Field Archaeologist

Samira Hill working with volunteers in Hume

Since graduating from the University of Nantes, Samira completed a Masters in Classics and Archaeology at University College Dublin  and a further Masters in Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh. Samira has worked on several research projects in Cyprus and Turkey, as well as working in the commercial archaeology sector in Ireland, the UK, and Australia, and has been active in the heritage sector for over fifteen years. With a further six years of experience in teaching at primary age levels, Samira provides support and assistance with delivery and implementation of our field schools and educational outreach projects, principally on our projects in Scotland.

Kieran Manchip in the field in Perthsire

Kieran Manchip

MA MLitt - Assistant Archaeologist

Having completed his undergraduate degree in History and Archaeology at the University of Glasgow in 2016 Kieran has gone on to undertake a Masters degree in Conflict Archaeology and Heritage at the University’s Centre for Battlefield Archaeology. Kieran participated in HARP field schools as an undergraduate and the Jacobites and Eighteenth Century field school sparked a keen interest in the military road network pioneered by General Wade during the period of the Jacobite Risings. Kieran’s main area of interest is Scottish post-medieval landscapes, and in particular conflict archaeology and the interface between the civilian and military spheres. Community archaeology and heritage is also something that Kieran is passionate about. 

Sarah douglas

BA MA PhD - Social Media Representative

Sarah Douglas excavating in Cyprus

Sarah has completed three degrees at the University of Mancheter; the first in Ancient History and Archaeology in 2012, with a Masters degree in Archaology completed in 2015 and her PhD completed in 2021. Whilst she has also worked on projects in the UK, Sarah has mainly worked in Cyprus and has been spending her summers digging there since she was an undergraduate, and was a team supervisor on HARP's Experimental Archaeology and Beer Production Field School in 2013. Sarah's main research interests are gender, burial and human object relationships and she is applied this to the prehistoric Cypriot burial record within her PhD. Sarah is HARP's Social Media Representative, and also works on our field schools in Cyprus.

Company Policy

We believe in transparency when it comes to our actions, methods, and processes. As such our company Mission Statement and Policies, including Data Protection and Privacy, Equal Opportunities, and Health and Safety, are available to view below.

Mission Statement.pdf
H&S Policy Arrangements 2023.pdf
Covid 19 Risk Assessment for Outdoor Fieldwork_Apr_2023_Mar_2024.pdf
Data Protection Policy.pdf
Equal Opportunities Policy.pdf