Alison Foster

Alison has worked in the commercial archaeology sector for over 20 years. Prior to her doctoral research, she was employed by environmental consultancies including Palaeoecology Research Services, heading the sample processing strategies and contributing to specialist reports. After being awarded her PhD from the University of Leicester as part of the AHRC-funded ”Chicken Project” (or “Cultural and Scientific Perceptions of Human-Chicken Interactions” project), she went on to work in Ethiopia as a post-doctoral researcher. She has co-authored several papers that have been published in high-impact journals. This was followed by a period as a freelance consultant, when she provided a significant contribution to the publication: Life, Death and Rubbish Disposal in Roman Norton, North Yorkshire (2021).

Alison has been employed as the Senior Zooarchaeologist since 2022. Since then, she has produced and contributed to a substantial portfolio of evaluation, assessment and analysis reports. She is currently undertaking the analysis of a large and regionally significant assemblage from the India Buildings excavation, Victoria Street, Edinburgh. She provides training and mentoring for junior colleagues and has recently successfully applied for an Archaeology Mentoring Partnership Grant from Historic England.