Committee

The Tayside and Fife Archaeological Committee (TAFAC) is registered in Scotland as a charity (SC002450)

Committee

Chairman: Christina Donald is a graduate of Boston University, Massachusetts, USA, and has an MPhil in Archaeological Studies from Glasgow University. She has been curator of the Regional and Foreign Archaeology collections at McManus Museums and Art Gallery, Dundee since 2004, and is a member of the Society of Museum Archaeologists.

Vice-chairman: Steve Liscoe, Fife Council Archaeological Unit, Town House, Kirkcaldy.

Secretary: Gavin Grant is the Collections Development Team Leader for Fife Council Libraries and Museums. Based in Kirkcaldy, he has responsibility for the local authority museum collections in Fife which include important archaeological collections at St Andrews Museum. Gavin is a graduate in history from Strathclyde University and studied for a postgraduate qualification in Museum Studies from Leicester University in 1989..

Membership Secretary: Eva Bennett is a member of both the Abertay Historical Society and the Archaeological Section of the Perthshire Society of Natural Science. She has been involved in Tayside archaeology since the early 1970s, when she dug at Elcho Nunnery with Dr Margaret Stewart. Eva is responsible for maintaining the list of corresponding members and distributing material to them.

Treasurer: John Sherriff is an Investigator with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. A native of Perth, he graduated with an honours degree in Archaeology from University College, Cardiff in 1978. Following a spell with Angus District Museums (1980-84), he joined RCAHMS in 1986 and has since undertaken survey in Perthshire, Dumfriess-shire and Aberdeenshire.

Editor: Lisbeth Thoms is a freelance archaeologist/heritage adviser working from home in Monifieth, Angus, and was formerly Heritage Services Manager with Dundee City Council. A graduate of the University of Edinburgh, she has a postgraduate Diploma in Archaeology from the University of Durham. A founder member of TAFAC in the mid 1970s, she directed one of the first urban excavations in Perth at St Ann's Lane in 1974. She was TAFAC Chairman from 1983 to 1985 and became Editor of the Tayside and Fife Archaeological Journal in 1998. She was awarded the MBE in the 2008 New Year Honours List for services to Conservation in Scotland.

Assistant Editor: Derek Hall gained a Certificate in Practical Archaeology from the Dorset Institute of Higher Education and from 1976 to 1980 worked on excavations throughout Scotland and England. In 1980 he joined the Urban Archaeology Unit, the predecessor of SUAT Ltd. After a spell as a Senior Supervisor (1982-85) on several major excavations, he was appointed Field Officer, and eventually Depute Director. He has an extensive knowledge of Scottish burgh archaeology and considerable experience in the study and identification of Scottish medieval pottery. Since the demise of SUAT in July 2009 he as set himself up as a sole trader.

Rachel Benvie is Curator of Montrose and Brechin Museums. Originally from Hertfordshire, she graduated with an MA in Archaeology from Cambridge University in 1985, and gained a postgraduate qualification in Museum Studies at Leicester University. She came to Montrose as Assitant Curator in 1987 and became Curator in 1991. She served as Chairman of TAFAC from 2008-2011.

Archie Dick is a Physics teacher at Forfar Academy. He graduated from Edinburgh University with an honours degree in Physics in 1979 and after a number of years on the digging circuit he entered the teaching profession. He returned to archaeology in an amateur capacity in 1989 and has worked mainly in the Kirriemuir area. He is currently excavating a Neolithic and Iron Age site at Auchlishie.

Mark Hall is the History Officer at Perth Museum & Art Gallery (Perth & Kinross Council), where he is chiefly responsible for the management of the archaeology collection. He hails from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, and attended the universities of Sheffield and Leicester. Since 1984 he has worked on a diverse number of archaeological sites and in a variety of museums, coming to Perth in 1995. He has been a member of TAFAC since 1995 and was its Chairman from 1997-2004. In addition he is a member of the TAFAC editorial sub-committee.

Alan Hunter is a longstanding member of Perthshire Society of Natural Science Archaeological Section.

Oliver Lewis is an Inspector of Ancient Monuments with Historic Scotland.

Catherine Smith is a faunal remains specialist, living in Perth, who worked for SUAT Ltd and now for Alder Archaeology.

Paula Martin studied Classics at Bristol and Classical Archaeology at Oxford, and later gained a PhD from Dundee for a thesis on Cupar, and is employed 80% as editor of the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 10% as a tutor for the OU, and the rest of the time on other projects. Her books include a series of privately-published local guides and, under Birlinn’s imprint, A Historical Guide to Lochaber, and Cupar: the History of a Small Scottish town. She designed and maintains the TAFAC website.

Douglas Speirs is the Regional Archaeologist for Fife based with Fife Council in Kirkcaldy. Raised in the Scottish Borders, he graduated from Glasgow University with an honours MA degree in Archaeology and Scottish Medieval History. After working in the commercial archaeological sector he returned to university to graduate in 1993 with a M.Lit Archaeology degree (St Andrews). He was appointed Assistant Keeper (Research) with Aberdeen City Archaeological Unit before leaving in 1999 to take up his present position in which he is responsible for the management of the archaeological resource of Fife. His personal interests lie in the area of medieval archaeology and palaeography, subjects which he continues to research through his part-time PhD studies.

David Strachan is a graduate of Cardiff University and has previously been employed by Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments, the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, and the Heritage Conservation Group of Essex County Council. Appointed as Archaeologist with Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust in 2000, he is now Manager and responsible for the varied work of the Trust.

Clare Thomas is an archaeological consultant, specialising in medieval leather. She used to teach part-time at Perth College. She graduated with an honours degree in archaeology and history from the University of Southampton in 1972. She lives near Aberfeldy, and is a member of the Breadalbane Heritage Society. She has been on TAFAC since 1988, and was vice-chairman for 6 years from 1994.

Ann Watters is Chair of the Kirkcaldy Civic Society, which has been established for over 26 years and is concerned with recording information about Kirkcaldy's past, protecting interesting buildings, and ensuring, where possible, that the principles of good town planning are maintained. She is also Secretary of the Save Wemyss Ancient Caves Society (SWACS), which is concerned with the protection of the caves and their promotion through education. In the 2008 New Year Honours Ann was awarded a MBE for services to heritage in Fife.