Lecture 21- Carl Heron

Carl Heron, Director of Scientific Research, British Museum

Overview

I’m aiming to present, in 30-40 minutes, a snapshot of 100 years of Scientific Research at the British Museum. In 1920, a small laboratory was established following an enquiry into the condition of objects, largely as a result of inadequate storage during the First World War. From this humble beginning, conservation and scientific investigation developed into the significant core activities evident in 2020. This inexhaustive and rather selective presentation will highlight some examples from the annals of the department. I will end by looking forward to the period ahead.

About the speaker

Carl Heron is Director of Scientific Research at the British Museum. He was appointed in 2016 after spending more than 25 years at the University of Bradford as an academic in the Department of Archaeological Sciences. He has a degree in Archaeological Sciences (Bradford), a PhD in Chemistry (Cardiff) researching the detection of food residues in pottery vessels and he spent two years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Liverpool. His research interests are varied but focus largely on analytical organic chemistry applied to the study of the past and the history of scientific investigations in archaeology.