Dr Benjamin Stern
Assistant Professor
| Faculty/Dept/School |
School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences (Faculty of Life Sciences) |
|---|---|
| b.stern@bradford.ac.uk | |
| Telephone | +441274 236054 |
Biography
Ben is currently a Lecturer in Archaeological Sciences. Ben’s role is divided between Archaeology, Chemistry and the Analytical Centre.
Research
Bens research falls at the interface between analytical chemistry and archaeology. He is interested in the identification of the ‘archaeologically invisible’ by the correct application of analytical techniques. Some techniques are now fairly routine (such as Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (GC, GC-MS), Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and stable light isotopic ratios (Isotope Ratio-MS)), although these techniques may have not been applied to novel materials. Some are new (e.g. High Performance Liquid Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry, HPLC-MS), but all require careful application due to problems of small sample size, contamination, complex mixtures, degradation and the reliability of the biomarker approach. Further details and some case studies. Archaeologically the aims are to find direct molecular, trace element and isotopic evidence for the identification and use of archaeological materials including ceramic vessels, traded goods and soils (in combination with conventional archaeological evidence). Related areas of interest include the analysis of modern natural products their degradation and preservation.Publications
| Peer Reviewed Journal | |
|---|---|
| Title | Determination of contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and their mode of origin, in urban soils from Leeds (UK) (2018) |
| Authors | Hamed, Heiam A. Mohamed; Hale, William H.G.; Stern, Ben |
| Title | Red Lustrous Wheelmade ware: analysis of organic residues in Late Bronze Age trade and storage vessels from the eastern Mediterranean (2017) |
| Authors | Steele, Valerie J.; Stern, Ben |
| Journal | Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.06.027 |
| Title | Organic residue analysis of Egyptian votive mummies and their research potential (2017) |
| Authors | Brettell R.;Martin W.;Atherton-Woolham S.;Stern B.;McKnight L. |
| Journal | Studies in Conservation |
| DOI | 10.1179/2047058415Y.0000000027 |
| Title | Organic residue analysis of Egyptian votive mummies and their research potential (2016) |
| Authors | Brettell, Rhea C.; Martin, William H.C.; Atherton-Woolham, S.; Stern, Ben; McKnight, L. |
| Title | ‘Choicest unguents’: molecular evidence for the use of resinous plant exudates in late Roman mortuary rites in Britain (2015) |
| Authors | Brettell, Rhea C.; Schotsmans, Eline M.J.; Walton Rogers, P.; Reifarth, N.; Redfern, R.C.; Stern, Ben; Heron, Carl P. |
| Title | 'Choicest unguents': Molecular evidence for the use of resinous plant exudates in late Roman mortuary rites in Britain (2015) |
| Authors | Brettell R.;Schotsmans E.;Walton Rogers P.;Reifarth N.;Redfern R.;Stern B.;Heron C. |
| Journal | Journal of Archaeological Science |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.jas.2014.11.006 |
| Title | The 'semblance of immortality'? Resinous materials and mortuary rites in Roman Britain (2014) |
| Authors | Brettell, Rhea C.; Stern, Ben; Reifarth, N.; Heron, Carl P. |
| Title | Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment of Fatty Acids of Buddleja asiatica by GC-MS (2013) |
| Authors | Ali, F.; Ali, I.; Bibi, H.; Malik, A.; Stern, Ben; Maitland, Derek J. |
| Title | PET bottle use patterns and antimony migration into bottled water and soft drinks: The case of British and Nigerian bottles (2012) |
| Authors | Tukur A.;Sharp L.;Stern B.;Tizaoui C.;Benkreira H. |
| Journal | Journal of Environmental Monitoring |
| DOI | 10.1039/c2em10917d |
| Title | A study of 18th century Coptic icons of Ibrahim Al-Nasekh using Raman microscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry: Indigo as an organic pigment in Egyptian panel paintings (2012) |
| Authors | Abdel-Ghani M.;Stern B.;Edwards H.;Janaway R. |
| Journal | Vibrational Spectroscopy |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.vibspec.2012.05.003 |
| Title | Beeswax preserved in a Late Chalcolithic Bevelled Rim bowl from the Tehran Plain, Iran (2012) |
| Authors | Mayyas, A.; Stern, Ben; Gillmore, Gavin; Coningham, Robin A.E.; Fazeli Nashli, H. |
| Title | Application of lipid biomarker analysis to evaluate the function of "slab-lined pits" in Arctic Norway (2010) |
| Authors | Heron, Carl P.; Nilsen, G.; Stern, Ben; Craig, O.E.; Nordby, C.C. |
| Title | The Identity of the St Bees Lady, Cumbria: An Osteobiographical Approach (2010) |
| Authors | Knüsel, Christopher J.; Batt, Catherine M.; Cook, G.; Montgomery, Janet; Müldner, G.; Ogden, Alan R.; Palmer, C.; Stern, Ben; Todd, J.; Wilson, Andrew S. |
| Title | Olive oil or lard? Distinguishing plant oils from animal fats in the archaeological record of the eastern Mediterranean using gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (2010) |
| Authors | Steele, Valerie J.; Stern, Ben; Stott, A.W. |
| Journal | Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.4790 |
| Title | Gas chromatographic, mass spectrometric and stable carbon isotope investigations of organic residues in `slab-lined pits' from Arctic Norway (2010) |
| Authors | Heron, Carl P.; Nilsen, G.; Stern, Ben; Craig, O.E.; Nordby, C.C. |
| Title | Characterization of paint and varnish on a medieval Coptic-Byzantine icon: Novel usage of dammar resin? (2009) |
| Authors | Abdel-Ghani, Mona H.; Edwards, Howell G.M.; Stern, Ben; Janaway, Robert C. |
| Journal | SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA PART A: MOLECULAR & BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.saa.2008.10.050 |
| Title | Analysis of yellow "fat" deposits on Inuit boots (2009) |
| Authors | Edwards, Howell G.M.; Stern, Ben; Burgio, L.; Kite, M. |
| Title | Neolithic zoomorphic vessels from Eastern Macedonia, Greece: Issues of function (2009) |
| Authors | Marangou, C.; Stern, Ben |
| Title | Waking the dead: Scientific analysis of an Egyptian tunic. (2009) |
| Authors | Haldane, E.A.; Gillies, Sara; O'Connor, Sonia A.; Batt, Catherine M.; Stern, Ben |
| Title | Analysis of three putative birch bark tar samples from Melkøya, Arctic Norway (2009) |
| Authors | Stern, Ben; Heron, Carl P.; Clelland, Sarah-Jane; Nordby, C.C. |
| Title | Characterization of paint and varnish on a medieval Coptic-Byzantine icon: Novel usage of dammar resin (2009) |
| Authors | Abdel-Ghani M.;Edwards H.;Stern B.;Janaway R. |
| Journal | Spectrochimica Acta - Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.saa.2008.10.050 |
| Title | Trace element concentrations in mangrove sediments in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh (2009) |
| Authors | Awal, M.A.; Hale, William H.G.; Stern, Ben |
| Title | A Raman microscopic and gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric study of two 19th century overlapping Coptic icons of Anastasy Al-Romi (2008) |
| Authors | Abdel-Ghani M.;Edwards H.;Janaway R.;Stern B. |
| Journal | Vibrational Spectroscopy |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.vibspec.2008.02.013 |
| Title | New investigations into the Uluburun resin cargo (2008) |
| Authors | Stern, Ben; Heron, Carl P.; Tellefsen, T.; Serpico, M. |
| Title | Bulk stable light isotopic ratios in recent and archaeological resins: Towards detecting the transport of resins in antiquity? (2008) |
| Authors | Stern B.;Lampert Moore C.;Heron C.;Pollard A. |
| Journal | Archaeometry |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1475-4754.2007.00357.x |
| Title | From Susa to Anuradhapura: Reconstructing aspects of trade and exchange in bitumen-coated ceramic vessels between Iran and Sri Lanka from the Third to the Ninth Centuries AD. (2008) |
| Authors | Stern, Ben; Connan, J.; Blakelock, Eleanor S.; Jackman, R.; Coningham, Robin A.E.; Heron, Carl P. |
| Title | Combined FT-Raman spectroscopic and mass spectrometric study of ancient Egyptian sarcophagal fragments (2007) |
| Authors | Edwards H.;Stern B.;Villar S.;David A. |
| Journal | Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry |
| DOI | 10.1007/s00216-006-0640-x |
| Title | Molecular and isotopic demonstration of the processing of acquatic products in Northern European prehistoric pottery (2007) |
| Authors | Craig O.;Forster M.;Andersen S.;Koch E.;Crombé P.;Milner N.;Stern B.;Bailey G.;Heron C. |
| Journal | Archaeometry |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1475-4754.2007.00292.x |
| Title | The application of LA-ICP-MS in the examination of the thin plating layers found in late Roman coins (2007) |
| Authors | Vlachou-Mogire C.;Stern B.;McDonnell J. |
| Journal | Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.nimb.2007.09.040 |
| Title | Stable isotope and DNA evidence for ritual sequences in Inca child sacrifice (2007) |
| Authors | Wilson, Andrew S.; Ceruti, M.C.; Chavez, J.A.; Taylor, Timothy F.; Stern, Ben |
| Title | Molecular and isotopic demonstration of the processing of aquatic products in northern European prehistoric pottery (2007) |
| Authors | Craig, O.E.; Forster, M.; Andersen, S.H.; Koch, E.; Crombé, P.; Milner, N.J.; Stern, Ben; Bailey, G.N.; Heron, Carl P. |
| Title | Bulk stable light isotopic ratios in archaeological birch bark tars (2006) |
| Authors | Stern B.;Clelland S.;Nordby C.;Urem-Kotsou D. |
| Journal | Applied Geochemistry |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2006.07.004 |
| Title | Desert roads and transport vessels from Late Roman-Coptic times in the Eastern Sahara (2005) |
| Authors | Eichhorn B.;Hendrickx S.;Riemer H.;Stern B. |
| Journal | Journal of African Archaeology |
| DOI | 10.3213/1612-1651-10051 |
| Title | The circulation and consumption of Red Lustrous Wheelmade Ware: petrographic, chemical and residue analysis (2005) |
| Authors | Knappett, C.; Kilikoglou, V.; Steele, Valerie J.; Stern, Ben |
| Journal | Anatolian Studies |
| Title | A geochemical investigation of the origin of rouletted and other related South Asian fine wares (2005) |
| Authors | Ford L.;Pollard A.;Coningham R.;Stern B. |
| Journal | Antiquity |
| DOI | 10.1017/S0003598X00115030 |
| Title | Dating resin coating on pottery: The Spirit Cave early ceramic dates revised (2003) |
| Authors | Lampert C.;Glover I.;Hedges R.;Heron C.;Higham T.;Stern B.;Shoocongdej R.;Thompson G. |
| Journal | Antiquity |
| DOI | 10.1017/S0003598X0006141X |
| Title | Compositional variations in aged and heated pistacia resin found in late bronze age canaanite amphorae and bowls from Amarna, Egypt (2003) |
| Authors | Stern B.;Heron C.;Corr L.;Serpico M.;Bourriau J. |
| Journal | Archaeometry |
| DOI | 10.1111/1475-4754.00121 |
| Title | Compositional variation in aged and heated Pistacia resin found in Late Bronze Age Canaanite amphorae and bowls from Amarna, Egypt (2003) |
| Authors | Heron, Carl P.; Corr, L.; Serpico, M.; Stern, Ben; Bourriou, J. |
| Title | Birch-bark tar at Neolithic Makriyalos, Greece (2002) |
| Authors | Urem-Kotsou D.;Stern B.;Heron C.;Kotsakis K. |
| Journal | Antiquity |
| DOI | 10.1017/S0003598X00091766 |
| Title | Yesterday's hair--human hair in archaeology (2001) |
| Authors | Wilson, Andrew S.; Dixon, Ronald A.; Dodson, Hilary I.; Janaway, Robert C.; Pollard, A. Mark; Stern, Ben; Tobin, Desmond J. |
| Journal | Biologist |
| Title | A comparison of methods for establishing fatty acid concentration gradients across potsherds: A case study using Late Bronze Age Canaanite amphorae (2000) |
| Authors | Stern B.;Heron C.;Serpico M.;Bourriau J. |
| Journal | Archaeometry |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1475-4754.2000.tb00890.x |