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Well known for her time as a presenter on the hit Channel 4 series Time Team, Professor Carenza Lewis is a specialist in medieval archaeology with more than 30 years' experience under her belt across a range of subjects, disciplines, and methodologies.
Her research into the historic development of rural settlements and landscapes has, over decades, involved thousands of members of the public in a series of excavations, which have thrown new light on the origins of today’s villages and towns and the impact that events such as the Black Death plague had on local communities.
In 2022, Carenza was part of the online revival of Time Team, back by popular demand. The show announced its plans to dig the historic Anglo-Saxon burial ground at Sutton Hoo, and the programme is hoped to be released in 2025.
It has been an absolute privilege to work with so many people over the years in developing new insights into the past development of historic settlements and landscapes in the UK and Europe, in benefitting so many people and places in the present, and in widening access to historic landscape archaeology for the future.
Professor Carenza Lewis
Professor for the Public Understanding of Research
Carenza now combines her research and teaching in archaeology, history, heritage, health, communities, and education with public engagement, and since 2019, has introduced new approaches to archaeological investigation in Europe, spearheading innovative interdisciplinary research into the public benefits of participation in heritage.
"Some of the key research projects that I have led include investigations into a 20th Century council estate, exploring the wellbeing impacts of heritage volunteering, and an initiative to examine rural settlement and public participation in the UK, Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Poland," explains Carenza, who is Professor of Public Understanding of Research at the University.
Other public engagement initiatives include ‘Dig School’, which provided a virtual experience of archaeology to teachers and school children during the Covid-19 pandemic, and real-world archaeological digs for University of Lincoln students, investigating a previously unexplored location within the beautiful and historic grounds of the University’s Riseholme Campus.
Carenza also led an EU-funded on-campus festival in 2016 and 2017 and set up the PEARL scheme (Public Engagement for All with Research at Lincoln) as a central unit supporting public engagement across the University.
Thousands of rural residents from across Europe have been taking part in an ambitious archaeology project, which is led by Professor Carenza Lewis and explores how making new archaeological discoveries about local history can have a positive impact on the wellbeing of nearby communities.
Carenza has directed many projects involving archaeological fieldwork and heritage research and is regularly invited to deliver keynote addresses at national and international conferences.
Most recently, Carenza was involved in the first-ever Festival of History in Lincoln, which aimed to capture the public’s imagination by sharing unique insights into the city's rich and deep history through a range of immersive activities for all ages.
This included a series of talks delivered by members of the University’s academic community, including Carenza, who shared some interesting insights into Lincoln's fascinating history and also unearthed a selection of iconic moments from the ever-popular Time Team programme.
Carenza has also co-written a book about public engagement. Entitled Our Lincolnshire: Exploring public engagement with heritage, the book shows how audiences in Lincolnshire can reconnect with local heritage, drawing upon the voices of those living in the county.
Lincoln is a deeply historic city with remarkable Roman and medieval archaeology. But its fascination goes beyond the well-known great and the good and includes amazing but less familiar stories of resilience, rebellion, and doing things differently.
Professor Carenza Lewis
Professor for the Public Understanding of Research
Carenza’s distinguished contribution to archaeology and lasting impact on the social sciences has been recognised with a British Academy medal for Landscape Archaeology. She is the first woman to receive this award, created by British Academy Fellow Professor John Coles.
“I was stunned to be awarded the British Academy Landscape Archaeology Medal 2023," says Carenza. "Such a very prestigious award has to be a pinnacle of anyone’s career, and I am absolutely delighted.
“I am both immensely proud of and humbled by this honour, not least on behalf of all the people – including literally thousands of members of the public – who have taken part with me in archaeological fieldwork advancing knowledge about the historic landscapes we all share."
You can find out more about Professor Carenza Lewis' research projects, publications, teaching, and subject specialisms on her staff profile pages.
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