Christopher Wakefield

Research project

Digital Public Archaeology in a Time of Crisis: investigating and improving the real world impact of online engagement in the UK

Supervisor: Dr Colleen Morgan

In the UK, over 90% of archaeological research is conducted by commercial companies but there is yet to be a comprehensive analysis of how widespread digital outreach practices are, the forms they take, the audiences that access them and, crucially, their reception by the public. 

Archaeological companies have access to a wider suite of digital technologies than ever before including social media, livestreaming and blogging. These are powerful tools for raising awareness, encouraging audiences to engage with the subject and highlighting the societal contributions archaeology delivers. Yet, digital engagement, particularly among commercial companies, is currently poorly understood and there is a sector-wide absence of critical analysis of online outreach. 

Using social media data and content analysis this PhD research seeks to characterise and critically evaluate user engagement and the application, success and institutional attitudes towards digital public engagement by commercial archaeological entities.

Funded by the AHRC through the White Rose College of the Arts & Humanities (WRoCAH). 

Profile

Chris Wakefield completed a BA in Archaeology at the University of Liverpool in 2011 before working as a field archaeologist across the UK between 2011 and 2017.  

Since 2015 he has worked as the digital outreach coordinator for the Must Farm project, an excavation focusing on a Late Bronze Age settlement destroyed by fire in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire. 

He completed an MSc in Digital Heritage at the University of York in 2018 with a thesis focusing on digital public archaeology at Must Farm and the value of interactive online engagement work.

Publications and Conferences

Wakefield, C. 2018. Outreach. In Knight, M., Gibson, D., Ballantyne, R., and Robinson-Zeki, I. 2018. Must Farm Timber Platform: Post-excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design. Volume 1. Cambridge Archaeological Unit. 46-53.

Wakefield, C. 2020 Digital Public Archaeology at Must Farm: A Critical Assessment of Social Media Use for Archaeological Engagement, Internet Archaeology 55. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.55.9