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Dr. Catherine Batt,
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Information about Dr. Catherine Batt at the University of Bradford.

School of Archaeological & Forensic Sci
(Faculty of Life Sciences)
Email:
c.m.batt@bradford.ac.uk
Telephone:
+44 1274 233533
Photo of Dr. Catherine Batt

3

supervised researchers.

Biography

Cathy is an archaeological scientist with afocus developing methods for dating archaeological materials and integratingthe outcomes within large scale collaborative archaeological projects toproduce a better understanding of the human past.

She studied Natural Science (Physics andArchaeology) at the University of Durham, followed by a PhD in archaeomagneticdating at the Universities of Sheffield and Durham, in collaboration with YorkArchaeological Trust. She has been at the University of Bradford since 1992 ina variety of roles, most recently as Senior Lecturer in Archaeological Sciencessince 2001.

Research

I am anarchaeological scientist with a focus developing methods for datingarchaeological materials and integrating the outcomes within large scalecollaborative archaeological projects to produce a better understanding of thehuman past.

Mylaboratory in Bradford is the most productive archaeomagnetic laboratory in theUK. I measure the magnetic properties of archaeological materials and use thisinformation to date them and to infer changes in the past geomagnetic field.This research integrates the fundamental physics of magnetic materials andtheir measurements, with a detailed understanding of archaeological formationprocesses and the anthropogenic activities which influence magnetic properties(Batt et al., 2017, 2008; Peters and Batt, 2002). I have also developedBayesian statistical approaches to combine archaeomagnetic, radiocarbon andluminescence dates with artefactual and stratigraphic information to producemulti-method site chronologies (Card et al., 2018; Batt et al., 2017; Rhodes etal., 2003) which leads to significantly improved precision in dating.

There area number of key research audiences. Iwork with multinational teams of academics to produce detailed site chronologiesfor example in Iran and Georgia (Batt et al., in press; Batt and Greenwood,2013), Sri Lanka (Coningham et al., 2013; Coningham and Batt, 2009), Pakistan(Coningham and Batt, 2007), Shetland (Outram and Batt, 2010; Batt and Dockrill,2008) and Orkney (Card et al., 2018). My research also produces a betterunderstanding the geomagnetic field and associated earth systems, essential inmodelling past geomagnetic change and its implications for climate change(Clelland and Batt, 2012; Zananiri et al., 2008). Along with my research team,I also provide a commercial dating service which is used by archaeologicalcompanies associated with rail, road and construction developments and heritagegroups. Typically I provide initial advice to about 10 projects a year of which2-3 will result in further work.

Myresearch has pioneered the use of archaeomagnetic dating in UK archaeology forthe last 25 years, from my earliest publications on statistical approaches (Batt,1998, 1997) to recent papers describing new approaches (Batt et al., 2017). Ihave been directly involved in advising both Historic England and HistoricEnvironment Scotland in drawing up guidelines for scientific dating.

Research supervision

Dr. Catherine Batt is responsible for the supervision of 3 postgraduate researchers at the University of Bradford.

Teaching

Details on teaching interests, highlights and modules are available for Dr. Catherine Batt as follows:

Teaching interests

My teaching is characterised by two main approaches:

Research ledteaching. Much of my teaching, particularly at higherlevels, draws on case studies and examples from my own research. For example inArchaeometry (ARC7035-B), students use radiocarbon dates and archaeologicalinformation from a site I have worked on and produce a site chronology usingBayesian analytical software. This approach gives them a direct insight intothe practical application of the theory I have taught them and develops skillsrequested by employers.

Student ledapproaches. Iensure that students are engaged and active learners. I have found an effectiveway of achieving this is through peer supported learning. For example, inProfessional Development (ARC7041-B), I facilitate workshops in which studentscritique each other’s research designs for postgraduate projects, usingResearch Council criteria. In laboratory classes within Laboratory Science(ARC5004-B), students work in small groups to interpret the data they havecollected, before contributing to full class discussion.

Professional activities

Information about education, employment and areas of particular interest for Dr. Catherine Batt is as follows:

Consultancy

  • Multiple - Archaeomagnetic dating

Education

  • University of Durham - BSc Natural Sciences
  • Universities of Sheffield and Durham, in collaboration with York Archaeological Trust - PhD

Employment

  • University of Bradford - Lecturer in the year 1993 (specified as 01/01/1993)
  • University of Bradford - Senior Lecturer in the year 2001 (specified as 07/01/2001)
  • University of Bradford - Coordinator of Continuing Education in the year 1991 (specified as 02/06/1991)

Publications

There are 46 publications involving or that are attributed to Dr. Catherine Batt. They are listed as:

  • book (1)
  • book chapter (11)
  • peer reviewed journal (34)

Book

Dr. Catherine Batt has 1 publications listed under book.
Title Year Publication name Journal Volume Pages Authors Editors ISSN Publisher DOI Location
Analytical chemistry in archaeology 2007 1 - 404 Pollard A.;Batt C.;Stern B.;Young S. 9780511607431 10.1017/CBO9780511607431

Book Chapter

Dr. Catherine Batt has 11 publications listed under book chapter.
Title Year Publication name Journal Volume Pages Authors Editors ISSN Publisher DOI Location
Power Over Time: An Overview of the Old Scatness Broch Excavations 2004 Dockrill, Stephen J.; Batt, Catherine M.
Dating the sequence 2007 Coningham, Robin A.E.; Batt, Catherine M.
Scientific Analysis of Steatite: Recent results. 2009 Clelland, Sarah-Jane; Batt, Catherine M.; Stern, Ben; Jones, R.E.
Integrated multi-spectral imaging, analysis and treatment of an Egyptian tunic. 2010 Haldane, E.A.; Gillies, Sara; O'Connor, Sonia A.; Batt, Catherine M.; Stern, Ben
Dating at Old Scatness 2010 Outram, Zoe; Batt, Catherine M.
Archaeomagnetic dating 2014 Outram, Zoe; Harris, S.; Batt, Catherine M.
Archaeomagnetic Dating 2013 Encyclopedia of Scientific Dating Methods Encyclopedia of Scientific Dating Methods 73 - 79 Batt C. Rink, W. J. and Thampson, J. 1388-4360 Springer Reference
Dating at Old Scatness 2019 Excavations at Old Scatness Volume 3: The Post-medieval Township Excavations at Old Scatness Volume 3: The Post-medieval Township Outram, Z. and Batt, C. M. 978-0-9932740-9-1 Shetland Heritage Publications,
Dating at Old Scatness 2015 Excavations at Old Scatness Volume 2: The Broch and Iron Age Village. Excavations at Old Scatness Volume 2: The Broch and Iron Age Village. Outram, Z. and Batt, C. M. Dockrill, S. J., Bond, J. M., Turner, V. E., Brown, L. D., Bashford, D. J., Cussans, J. E. M. and Nicholson, R. A Shetland Heritage Publications,
The Scientific Dating Evidence. 2013 Gristhorpe Man: a life and death in the Bronze Age Gristhorpe Man: a life and death in the Bronze Age Batt C. N. Melton, J. Montgomery and C. Knusel Oxbow Books
Archaeomagnetic studies of features along the Gorgān and Tammīsheh Walls. 2013 Persia’s Imperial Power in Late Antiquity: The Great Wall of Gorgān and Frontier Landscapes of Sasanian Iran. Persia’s Imperial Power in Late Antiquity: The Great Wall of Gorgān and Frontier Landscapes of Sasanian Iran. Batt, C. M. and Greenwood, D. P. Sauer, E. W., H. Omrani Rekavandi, T. Wilkinson and Nokandeh, J. Oxbow Books

Peer Reviewed Journal

Dr. Catherine Batt has 34 publications listed under peer reviewed journal.
Title Year Publication name Journal Volume Pages Authors Editors ISSN Publisher DOI Location
Time and Place: A new chronology for the origin of the broch based on the scientific dating programme at the Old Scatness Broch, Shetland. 2006 Dockrill, Stephen J.; Batt, Catherine M.; Outram, Zoe
New Exploration in the Chitral Valley, Pakistan: An Extension of the Gandharan Grave Culture 2002 Batt, Catherine M.; Ali, I.; Coningham, Robin A.E.; Young, R.L.
Bayesian methods applied to the interpretation of multiple OSL dates: high precision sediment ages from Old Scatness Broch excavations, Shetland Isles. 2009 Rhodes, E.J.; Bronk Ramsey, C.; Outram, Zoe; Batt, Catherine M.; Willis, Laura H.; Dockrill, Stephen J.; Bond, Julie M.
The integration of chronological and archaeological information to date building construction: an example from Shetland, Scotland, UK. 2010 Outram, Zoe; Batt, Catherine M.; Rhodes, E.J.; Dockrill, Stephen J.
New developments in archaeomagnetic dating for Romania - A progress report on recent directional studies. 2008 Suteu, C.A.; Batt, Catherine M.; Zananiri, I.
Waking the dead: Scientific analysis of an Egyptian tunic. 2009 Haldane, E.A.; Gillies, Sara; O'Connor, Sonia A.; Batt, Catherine M.; Stern, Ben
The Identity of the St Bees Lady, Cumbria: An Osteobiographical Approach 2010 Knüsel, Christopher J.; Batt, Catherine M.; Cook, G.; Montgomery, Janet; Müldner, G.; Ogden, Alan R.; Palmer, C.; Stern, Ben; Todd, J.; Wilson, Andrew S.
Gristhorpe man: an early bronze age log-coffin burial scientifically defined 2010 Antiquity 84 Melton, Nigel D.; Montgomery, Janet; Knüsel, Christopher J.; Batt, Catherine M.; Needham, S.; Parker Pearson, M.; Sheridan, A.; Heron, Carl P.; Horsley, T.; Schmidt, Armin R.; Evans, Adrian A.; Carter, E.A.; Edwards, Howell G.M.; Hargreaves, Michael D.; Janaway, Robert C.; Lynnerup, N.; Northover, P.; O'Connor, Sonia A.; Ogden, Alan R.; Taylor, Timothy F.; Wastling, Vaughan; Wilson, Andrew S. 10.1017/S0003598X00100237
Rehydroxylation of fired-clay ceramics: factors affecting early-stage mass gain in dating experiments 2014 Wilson, M.A.; Clelland, Sarah-Jane; Carter, M.A.; Ince, C.; Hall, C.; Hamilton, A.; Batt, Catherine M.
A post-Roman sequence at Carlisle Cathedral 2014 McCarthy, Michael R.; Archibald, M.; Batey, C.E.; Batt, Catherine M.; Brooks, C.; Buckberry, Jo; Cherry, J.; Evans, Adrian A.; Gaunt, G.; Keevill, G.; Lerwick, Ceilidh; Montgomery, Janet; Ottaway, P.; Paterson, C.; Pirie, E.; Walton Rogers, P.; Shotter, D.; Towers, Jacqueline R.; Tweddle, D.
Constructing chronologies in Viking Age Iceland: Increasing dating resolution using Bayesian approaches 2015 Batt, Catherine M.; Schmid, M.M.E.; Vésteinsson, O.
Excavation of a neolithic house at Yarnbury, near Grassington, North Yorkshire 2017 Gibson, Alex M.; Neubauer, W.; Flöry, S.; Filzwieser, R.; Nau, E.; Schneidhofer, P.; Strapazzon, G.; Batt, Catherine M.; Greenwood, David P.
RHX Dating: measurement of the Activation Energy of Rehydroxylation for Fired-Clay Ceramics 2015 Clelland, Sarah-Jane; Wilson, M.A.; Carter, M.A.; Batt, Catherine M.
To Cut a Long Story Short: Formal Chronological Modelling for the Late Neolithic Site of Ness of Brodgar, Orkney 2018 Card, N.; Mainland, Ingrid L.; Timpany, S.; Towers, R.; Batt, Catherine M.; Bronk Ramsey, C.; Dunbar, E.; Reimer, P.; Bayliss, A.; Marshall, P.; Whittle, A.
Advances in archaeomagnetic dating in Britain: New data, new approaches and a new calibration curve 2017 Batt, Catherine M.; Brown, M.C.; Clelland, Sarah-Jane; Korte, M.; Linford, P.; Outram, Zoe
The state of theocracy: Defining an early medieval hinterland in Sri Lanka 2007 Antiquity 81 699 - 719 Coningham R.;Gunawardhana P.;Manuel M.;Adikari G.;Katugampola M.;Young R.;Schmidt A.;Krishnan K.;Simpson I.;McDonnell G.;Batt C. 0003-598X 10.1017/S0003598X00095673
Sourcing fire ash on archaeological sites in the Western and Northern Isles of Scotland, using mineral magnetism 2007 Geoarchaeology - An International Journal 22 747 - 774 Church M.;Peters C.;Batt C. 0883-6353 10.1002/gea.20185
Geomagnetic secular variation as recorded in British lake sediments and its application to archaeomagnetic studies 2012 Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors 194-195 85 - 97 Clelland S.;Batt C. 0031-9201 10.1016/j.pepi.2012.01.010
Irrigation on the Tehran Plain, Iran: Tepe Pardis - The site of a possible Neolithic irrigation feature? 2009 Catena 78 285 - 300 Gillmore G.;Coningham R.;Fazeli H.;Young R.;Magshoudi M.;Batt C.;Rushworth G. 0341-8162 10.1016/j.catena.2009.02.009
Archaeomagnetic secular variation in the UK during the past 4000 years and its application to archaeomagnetic dating 2007 Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors 160 97 - 107 Zananiri I.;Batt C.;Lanos P.;Tarling D.;Linford P. 0031-9201 10.1016/j.pepi.2006.08.006
Geoarchaeology and the value of multidisciplinary palaeoenvironmental approaches: A case study from the Tehran Plain, Iran 2011 Geological Society Special Publication 352 49 - 67 Gillmore G.;Stevens T.;Buylaert J.;Coningham R.;Batt C.;Fazeli H.;Young R.;Maghsoudi M. 0305-8719 10.1144/SP352.5
Identifying archaeological wood stack charcoal production sites using geophysical prospection: Magnetic characteristics from a modern wood stack charcoal burn site 2012 Journal of Archaeological Science 39 1197 - 1204 Powell A.;Wheeler J.;Batt C. 0305-4403 10.1016/j.jas.2011.11.005
Magnetic investigations of Iron Age slags at Yderik, Denmark: Mineral magnetic comparison to UK slags 2008 Physics and Chemistry of the Earth - Elsevier 33 465 - 473 Peters C.;Abrahamsen N.;Voss O.;Batt C.;McDonnell G. 1474-7065 10.1016/j.pce.2008.02.020
A Bayesian approach to linking archaeological, paleoenvironmental and documentary datasets relating to the settlement of Iceland (Landnám) 2018 Holocene 28 19 - 33 Schmid M.;Zori D.;Erlendsson E.;Batt C.;Damiata B.;Byock J. 0959-6836 10.1177/0959683617714597
The potential for dating the old Scatness site, Shetland, by optically stimulated luminescence 2001 Archaeometry 43 589 - 596 Burbidge C.;Batt C.;Barnett S.;Dockrill S. 0003-813X 10.1111/1475-4754.00038
Dating and sourcing fuel ash residues from Cladh Hallan, South Uist, Scotland, using magnetic techniques 2002 Physics and Chemistry of the Earth - Elsevier 27 1349 - 1353 Peters C.;Batt C. 1474-7065 10.1016/S1474-7065(02)00132-8
An assessment of the magnetic response of an iron-smelting site 2002 Archaeometry 44 651 - 665 Powell A.;McDonnell J.;Batt C.;Vernon R. 0003-813X
A mineral magnetic investigation into fuel derived deposits from Old Scatness Broch, Shetland 2002 Physics and Chemistry of the Earth - Elsevier 27 1343 - 1348 Dewar I.;Batt C.;Peters C. 1474-7065 10.1016/S1474-7065(02)00131-6
Re-deposited cryptotephra layers in Holocene peats linked to anthropogenic activity 2013 Holocene 23 1493 - 1501 Swindles G.;Galloway J.;Outram Z.;Turner K.;Schofield J.;Newton A.;Dugmore A.;Church M.;Watson E.;Batt C.;Bond J.;Edwards K.;Turner V.;Bashford D. 0959-6836 10.1177/0959683613489586
A Stamford ware pottery kiln in pontefract: A geographical enigma and a dating dilemma 2013 Medieval Archaeology 57 111 - 150 Cumberpatch C.;Roberts I.;Alldritt D.;Batt C.;Gaunt G.;Greenwood D.;Hudson J.;Hughes M.;Ixer R.;Meadows J.;Weston P.;Young J. 0076-6097 10.1179/0076609713Z.00000000017
Sampling methods in archaeomagnetic dating: A comparison using case studies from Wörterberg, Eisenerz and Gams Valley (Austria) 2008 Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 33 414 - 426 Trapanese A.;Batt C.;Schnepp E. 1474-7065 10.1016/j.pce.2008.02.035
The British Archaeomagnetic Calibration Curve: An Objective Treatment 1997 Archaeometry 39 153 - 168 Batt C. 0003-813X 10.1111/j.1475-4754.1997.tb00795.x
Vikings, peat formation and settlement abandonment: A multi-method chronological approach from Shetland 2019 Quaternary Science Reviews 210 211 - 225 Swindles G.;Outram Z.;Batt C.;Hamilton W.;Church M.;Bond J.;Watson E.;Cook G.;Sim T.;Newton A.;Dugmore A. 0277-3791 10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.02.026
The role of magnetic susceptibility as a geophysical survey technique: A site assessment at high cayton, north yorkshire 1995 Archaeological Prospection 2 179 - 196 Batt C.;Fear S.;Heron C. 1075-2196 10.1002/1099-0763(199512)2:4<179::AID-ARP6140020402>3.0.CO;2-K