I possess a wide range of research interests that span multiple periods and cultures. My primary regional and chronological expertise lies in the study of Late Iron Age Scandinavia and early medieval Europe. Currently, my work focuses on the themes of 1) violence, martial culture, and their impacts on social and political organisation, 2) captivity, slavery, and social inequality, and 3) migration, conflict, and coalescence in cross-cultural and transnational settings. These are explored and articulated primarily through discussions of Late Iron Age society, but with substantial reference to broader, global archaeologies of migration, slavery, conflict, and state formation across and outside of the broader cultural sphere of the so-called ‘Viking diaspora.’

My work is underpinned by an interdisciplinary approach that situates discussions of material culture within wider frameworks. In recent years, a key component of my research strategy has been to utilise theory and data from a range of fields including anthropology, psychology, sociology, geography, and the cognitive science of religion as a means of developing novel approaches to longstanding historical questions. I also make regular use of cross-cultural and comparative frameworks, drawing on archaeological and historical case studies dating from prehistory to the early modern period.

In addition, I maintain a longstanding research interest in the archaeology of modern conflict. specifically the 1941-45 Pacific War and its impacts on indigenous communities in Micronesia and the Ryukyu islands. In 2014 I was given the opportunity join a project designed to study the archaeology and cultural legacies of the 1941-45 Pacific War. Focusing initially on the island of Peleliu, the Republic of Palau, the project extended beyond the remit of traditional battlefield archaeology by shedding light on indigenous experiences of global conflict while also promoting sustainable approaches to heritage tourism and the management of archaeological resources. A great emphasis was placed on collaboration with local communities. In recent years, the research team has sought to broaden its international collaboration with scholars working in Japan and Okinawa, Guam, the Mariana Islands, the Aleutian Islands, the Solomon Islands, and Russia.

My fieldwork interests are wide ranging and I have participated in a range of excavations and survey projects across Britain, Continental Europe, Scandinavia, and Micronesia.