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researcher

Dr Simon Fitch

Future Leaders Fellow

Faculty/Dept/School School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences
(Faculty of Life Sciences)
Emails.fitch@bradford.ac.uk

Biography

Dr Fitch is currently a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow who is leading the 'Life on the Edge' project. He has a long interest in the study of all aspects of submerged landscapes. His research has research focused upon the study of submerged archaeology and landscapes worldwide and the impacts of environmental and landscape change upon human populations during prehistory. Earlier research included analysis of the offshore landscapes of Wales as part of the ‘West Coast Palaeolandscapes Project’, the DEFRA funded Humber REC Project and the NOAA funded ‘Between the salt water and the sea strand’, and the ERC funded 'Europes Lost Frontiers' project.

Research

Simon is leading the "Life on the Edge" project, using high resolution seismic data and novel sampling techniques to locate and map submerged Late Palaeolithic landscapes. The “Life on the Edge” project seeks to develop techniques and models, including the use of Parametric Echo Sounders and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV’s) to provide ground-breaking mapping of Late Palaeolithic coastlines. This will lead to the generation of models of Late Palaeolithic occupation that will identify archaeological areas of interest. This is significant since such data will assist government and developers in identifying areas of the seabed have most potential value for Late Palaeolithic preservation.

Publications

Peer Reviewed Journal
TitleResponse to Comment on "Sedimentary DNA from a submerged site reveals wheat in the British Isles 8000 years ago" (2015)
AuthorsSmith, O.; Momber, G.; Bates, R.; Garwood, P.; Fitch, Simon; Pallen, M.; Gaffney, Vincent L.; Allaby, R.G.
 
TitleThermal age, cytosine deamination and the veracity of 8,000 year old wheat DNA from sediments (2015)
AuthorsKistler, L.; Smith, O.; Ware, R.; Momber, G.; Bates, R.; Garwood, P.; Fitch, Simon; Pallen, M.; Gaffney, Vincent L.; Allaby, R.G.
 
TitleSedimentary DNA from a submerged site reveals wheat in the British Isles 8000 years ago (2015)
AuthorsSmith O.;Momber G.;Bates R.;Garwood P.;Fitch S.;Pallen M.;Gaffney V.;Allaby R.
JournalScience
DOI10.1126/science.1261278
 
TitleReconstructing North Sea palaeolandscapes from 3D and high-density 2D seismic data: An overview (2014)
Authorsvan Heteren, S.; Meekes, J.A.C.; Bakker, M.A.J.; Gaffney, Vincent L.; Fitch, Simon; Gearey, B.R.; Paap, B.F.
 
TitleTime and a Place: A luni-solar 'time-reckoner' from 8th millennium BC Scotland (2013)
AuthorsGaffney, Vincent L.; Fitch, Simon; Ramsey, E.; Yorston, R.; Ch'ng, E.; Baldwin, E.; Bates, R.; Gaffney, Christopher F.; Ruggles, C.; Sparrow, Thomas; McMillan, A.; Cowley, D.; Fraser, S.; Murray, C.; Murray, H.; Hopla, E.; Howard, A.
DOIGaffney V, Fitch S, Ramsey E, et al (2013) Time and a Place: A luni-solar 'time-reckoner' from 8th millennium BC Scotland. Internet Archaeology 34. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.34.1
 
TitleConsidering the ‘Terra Incognita’ and the implications for the Cultural Resource Management of the Arabian Gulf Palaeolandscape (2011)
AuthorsCuttler, R.; Fitch, Simon; Al-Naimi, F.A.
 
Book Chapters
TitleChapter 3.1 - The West Coast Palaeolandscapes Project (2019)
AuthorsVince Gaffney and Simon Fitch
JournalWales and the Sea: 10,000 years of Welsh Maritime History
PublisherRoyal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales
 
TitleDoggerland and the lost frontiers project (2015–2020) (2017)
AuthorsGaffney V.;Allaby R.;Bates R.;Bates M.;Ch’ng E.;Fitch S.;Garwood P.;Momber G.;Murgatroyd P.;Pallen M.;Ramsey E.;Smith D.;Smith O.
JournalCoastal Research Library
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-53160-1_20
 
TitleMulti-proxy palaeoecological approaches to submerged landscapes: a case study from ‘Doggerland’, in the southern North Sea (2017)
AuthorsGearey, B.J.; Hopla, E.-J.; Boomer, I.; Smith, D.; Marshall, P.; Fitch, Simon; Griffiths, S.; Tapping, D.R.
 
TitleTime and Tide: Modelling the effects of landscape change on Population support in the Southern North Sea (2013)
AuthorsFitch, Simon
 
Published Reports
TitleSedimentary DNA from a submerged site reveals wheat in the British Isles 8000 years ago (2015)
AuthorsSmith, O.; Momber, G.; Bates, R.; Garwood, P.; Fitch, Simon; Pallen, M.; Gaffney, Vincent L.; Allaby, R.G.
 
TitleThe application of extensive 3D Seismic Reflection Data for the exploration of extensive inundated Palaeolandscapes (2013)
AuthorsFitch, Simon; Gaffney, Vincent L.