Our Committee

Meet the team of committee members who run the Icon Archaeology group

Helen Ganiaris

Helen Ganiaris

Chair and Communication Officer

I have been Chair of the Archaeology Group since 2018. In March 2019, I retired from the Museum of London from the post of Conservation Manager of archaeology, objects and paper. I started at the Museum in 1980 as an archaeological conservator conserving finds from the numerous excavations, many of them waterlogged sites. I led the archaeological conservation team until 2001 and then took on the wider management role.

My areas of interest included involvement of volunteers in conservation, archaeological archive standards and display case materials. I am a Fellow of IIC and before retirement I was an assessor for PACR and an Honorary Research Fellow, University College London. Through these roles and my years at the Museum, I feel privileged to have been involved in the training of archaeological conservators from many conservation programmes. My main project for Icon AG is working towards the publication of the next edition of First Aid for Finds.

Luisa Duarte ACR

Luisa Duarte ACR

Acting Chair and Secretary

I am an archaeological conservator of 10 years’ experience. After graduating from UCL with an MA and an MSc in conservation in 2010, I worked as an object conservator for the Imperial War Museum, moving to MOLA in 2011.

I have worked as an archaeological conservator at the Museum of London for two years. I specialise in the conservation of waterlogged organics and the display of archaeological materials in non-museum environments.

Hazel Gardiner

Hazel Gardiner

Communications Officer

At UCL I completed the MA in Principles of Conservation in 2009 and the MSc in Conservation for Archaeology and Museum in 2011, following a career holding research and research-related posts at a number of University of London institutions. 

Since becoming a conservator, I have held posts at the British Museum, the Ashmolean Museum, the conservation division of the Church of England, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Birmingham Museums Trust and the Museum of London. I have also worked as a freelancer on investigative archaeological projects in the UK and abroad, and for a range of museums and institutions. I currently work for Royal Museums Greenwich as Senior Objects Conservator (metals).

Claire Woodhead ACR

Claire Woodhead ACR

Treasurer

I work for the Hampshire Cultural Trust in Winchester, which has been home since 2007. This is my second stint on the Archaeology Group Committee, having previously served from 2008–2016.

In a former life I gained a BA (Hons) in ceramics and worked as a studio potter and a violin teacher in Devon, before completing the MA Conservation of Historic Objects at the University of Lincoln in 2007.  I became accredited in 2011 and have since completed an MA in Regional and Local History and Archaeology, graduating with distinction in 2015.  My interests are archaeological, ceramic and natural science conservation and I enjoy combining all these and more through work.

Mags Felter ACR

Committee Member

I am an archaeological conservator working on all materials both freshly excavated and those in museums. I have a keen interest in bone and antler objects as well as metals, maritime archaeology and on-site conservation and lifting of fragile materials. I have also attended excavations/heritage sites in Orkney, Turkey, Jordan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, and those closer to home. From 2005-2020, I worked at the York Archaeological Trust and recently took up an archaeological conservator post at the Museum of Cultural History, Oslo. I am an accredited member of Icon and link the CIfA Finds Special Interest Group with the Archaeology Group.

Riva Boutylkova

Riva Boutylkova

Emerging Professionals Liaison Officer

I completed a BA in Conservation/Restoration at Antwerp University in 2018, specialising in ceramics, and an MA in Conservation of Archaeological and Museum Objects at Durham University In 2020.

After this I worked at Dorset Museum, supporting their on-site gallery redevelopment project, before moving to the Museum of London to work with their archaeological collection. I now work as an archaeological conservator at MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology), where I treat freshly excavated archaeological material from sites in and around London. Besides my current work, my interests include glass and ceramics conservation and museum outreach projects. Before joining the Archaeology Group committee, I was a member of Icon's Emerging Professionals Network committee, where I helped organise various webinars and online panel sessions.

Reed Hudson

Reed Hudson

Social Media Officer

After initially training in conservation in Italy, I graduated from UCL with an MA in Principles of Conservation in 2019 and an MSc in Conservation for Archaeology and Museums in 2021. I previously worked as a freelance conservator specialising in archaeological materials. I am currently the Senior Metals Conservator for Historic Environment Scotland.

In addition to my work in the UK, I also undertake conservation fieldwork internationally, most recently at sites in Egypt, Greece, and the US. Before training as a conservator, I worked as a jeweller and gemmologist. I am interested in the different forms conservation training can take, and in increasing access and diversity in our field.

Eliza Jacobi

Eliza Jacobi

Committee Member

Since 2019 I have worked at the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Netherlands as a conservator of organic archaeological materials. I have a MA in Art History (2004) and trained in book and paper conservation in Amsterdam (2008). I specialise in papyrus, parchment and leather conservation.

I have freelanced and have also held posts in a number of institutions including the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; the Palace of Yogyakarta (Indonesia); the National Gallery of Australia; the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia; and the University Library Leiden. I teach at the University of Amsterdam on the Masters programme for Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage.

Kate Berlewen

Kate Berlewen

Events Officer

I graduated from the UCL Institute of Archaeology with an MSc in Conservation for Archaeology and Museums in 2021, and an MA in Principles of Conservation in 2019. I currently work as a freelance conservator for archaeology and museum collections in the Southwest, and have a strong interest in archaeological inorganics, ceramics analysis, and the archaeology of the Devon and Cornwall. I am also involved in research and training as a pottery specialist, leading a project funded by Historic England to build a fabric type series for medieval and post-medieval archaeological pottery in Devon and Cornwall. I am a keen advocate and representative for diversity, equity, and inclusion in all my work and hope to bring this with me to the role of Events Officer for the Archaeology Group.