U of  Bristol

University of Bristol
2009 Summer Field School

Crew Page

Kimberly Monk, Principal Investigator and Project Director
Originally from Toronto, Kimberly coordinates and lectures on the University of Bristol MA in Maritime Archaeology and History. She holds an M.A. in Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology from East Carolina University, received a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Western Ontario, and is currently completing a Ph.D. in the Department of Archaeology at Bristol.  She has worked as an archaeologist on dozens of projects within the Caribbean, United States, and Canada, including both terrestrial and submerged prehistoric sites, but with a particular focus on historic shipwrecks. Current research, beyond the Caribbean includes studies of a Royal Navy fireship on the Isles of Scilly (UK).

David Moore, Co-Principal Investigator
Hailing from North Carolina, David has conducted field research on over 175 shipwrecks dating from the 16th to 19th centuries, including the 17th century Spanish galleons Nuestra Senora de Atocha, Santa Margarita and San Martin.  He has served as archaeological director on both the Henrietta Marie Project, and the Queen Anne's Revenge Shipwreck Project.  David has authored numerous publications, and delivered hundreds of presentations on shipwreck research. He holds a B.A. in Environmental Marine Science from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and an M.A. in Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology from East Carolina University. He is currently Curator of Nautical Archaeology at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort. 

Leslie Currie, Archaeologist
Leslie Currie holds a B.A. in Archaeology from Wilfrid Laurier University, in Waterloo, Ontario and has been working as an archaeologist since 1987. She has worked for the London Museum of Archaeology (associated with the University of Western Ontario), the University of Delaware Centre for Archaeological Research, and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, including independent consulting firms. She is the president of the Ontario Marine Heritage Committee and is currently spearheading investigations of a submerged site associated with a series of caves and overhangs for evidence of prehistoric habitation. Leslie has also worked on a number of historic shipwrecks in Ontario and Florida. 

Nicholas Bentall, Quartermaster & Field Support
Nick is originally from Henley-on-Thames, England, but has been based in South West England for over 12 years.  Trained as an electrical and electronics engineer at the University of West England, he has since been employed as a Senior IT Engineer, as well as in property development.  An avid boater, he holds an RYA Powerboat certificate and rescue diver certification. 

Christopher Juredin, Diving Support & Sponsor
Christopher was born in East London, South Africa and moved to BVI in 1994.  He is currently owner/operator of Commercial Dive Services in the Caribbean; and also owner of "We Be Divin" Dive Store in Cane Garden Bay, the only dive store on the north side of Tortola.  This serial entrepreneur also owns a ship registration company, the Parish Group. He has also spent the last seven years coordinating and managing numerous projects in the commercial dive industry. Christopher has located many wreck sites in the Virgin Islands and was a major sponsor of the 2005 and 2006 maritime archaeological surveys of Road Town Harbour.

Michael Kent, Lecturer
Mitch harkens from Worcestershire, England. He holds a B.A in Visual Communications and an M.A. in Maritime Archaeology from the University of Bristol. Mitch is currently completing a Ph.D. in Archaeology at Bristol, focusing on the fortification network in the British Virgin Islands.  Based at BVI for ten years, Mitch has worked at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College for six years, where he is responsible for historical research, archaeology and teaching. Mitch initiated Bristol’s entrance to BVI and continues to heighten awareness of shipwrecks throughout the Virgin Islands.

Student Bios

Miriam Ash is a senior in Anthropology at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey and is originally from Plano, Texas, .  After completion of her BA, she intends to pursue a graduate degree in maritime archaeology starting in 2010.  She has taken part in a couple archaeological projects on her school campus consisting of various activities where she assisted several professors with their field work.  This field project is her first in maritime archaeology.  

Mirah Burgener (MJ) is originally from Toronto, Canada, and became interested in archaeology when her parents took her to Egypt at the age of 13, and has traveled the world ever since. She started diving at 15 and began dabbling in underwater archaeology, taking an introductory course in Menorca, Spain in 2008. Wanting to continue her education and experience in maritime archaeology, she joined the Bristol team in the BVI this summer. MJ is currently finishing her BSc in Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations and Archaeological Sciences at the University of Toronto. She plans to continue onto graduate work in Egyptology or Ancient Near Eastern studies abroad next year.

Jerry Cummings is originally from Kent, England and is an MA student in Maritime Archaeology and History at the University of Bristol. She previously completed a BA in Classics and Archaeology at the University in Kent, Canterbury.  She is currently designing and running a Maritime Archaeology Outreach Programme for her MA dissertation, in conjunction with a new business she has created, MARI-Time (Maritime Archaeology and Relations Incorporated), in which she aims to run Maritime Archaeology Outreach Programmes throughout the UK and campaign to get the world of Maritime Archaeology out to the younger generations of today.      

Charlotte Maus hails from Waterloo, Ontario, and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree (with honours) in history from Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne University in June 2008.  She has been an active scuba diver since 1999 and has Advanced, Scuba Rescue, and Nitrox diver certifications.  Bilingual in French and English, she works as a French/English translator, specialising in maritime archaeological documents.  She has participated in Nautical Archaeology Society courses around France since 2007.  Her topics of interest include Great Lakes shipping history, technical diving, and North American history.

Chris Schurr, based in London, graduated in Archaeology and Classical Studies in 1982, and worked in England, Israel and New Zealand with various institutions studying a range of cultural material. With the arrival of a young family he became a police officer, retiring after 25 years of service. Combining his love of history and scuba diving, he started a part-time Masters degree at Bristol University in Maritime Archaeology in 2008, the field project at Tortola being his first practical experience in underwater archaeology.
 
Najat El Hafi-Skeate, currently based in Luxembourg, read Archaeology and Anthropology at Cambridge, UK in 2002. She also holds an MA in Intercultural Studies, as well as a BA in Languages & Politics. She is currently enrolled in the MA Programme in Underwater Archaeology & Cultural Heritage Management at the University of Flinders. Najat was the Junior North African Regional Representative for the World Archaeological Congress between 2003-2008 where she gained substantial experience working with key players in cultural heritage. She has worked on archaeological missions in the West Bank, Sicily, Tunisia, throughout the UK & Ireland and Australia. Her area of predilection remains the Mediterranean basin area where she hopes to become further involved in the future.

 

 

 


Please feel free to contact us at K.Monk@bristol.ac.uk with any comments, questions, or suggestions during the weeks to come.

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