Interview with Professor Gabriel Moshenska

Please give us a brief description of your job at IoA.

I’m a lecturer at the Institute of Archaeology specialising in public archaeology: the communication of archaeology to the wider world, and the understanding of archaeology’s place in that world. I help to coordinate and teach the MA in Public Archaeology at UCL as well as other courses. I’m also responsible for encouraging the IoA staff and students to take part in public engagement projects of various kinds connected to their work.

What is your current research project?

I have lots of different projects going on at the same time! It’s very exhausting. At the moment I’m in the middle of a big project looking at the history of archaeology in the nineteenth century, and in particular the life and work of one man – Thomas Pettigrew – who helped to found the British Archaeological Association but was most famous for unrolling Egyptian mummies. I’m also helping prepare for an excavation on a medieval site in northwest London. When I’m too frazzled to do anything sensible I draw comics about my work.

What made you decide to study or work in archaeology?

When I was about five I got given the Usborne Book of World History, a wonderful book full of pictures and fun activities. It made the ancient world come to life, and I was fascinated by it. I still have a copy now, and recently I found out that some of my IoA colleagues helped to write it! Despite that, I originally planned to be an aeronautic engineer – I wanted to work on big turbofan jet engines – so I studied science and maths. But I was also a member of the Brighton and Hove Archaeological Society and had a great time digging with them, so I changed my mind and applied to university to do archaeology. I started at UCL in 2001 and I’ve never left.

If you were to travel back in time, where would you go?

I would love to explore Roman London, then skip forward to Anglo-Saxon London, then London just before the Great Fire in 1666 and finally 1840s London when the antiquarians and archaeologists were just starting to do interesting things. And then back to modern London in time for tea.

What you would you like to say to kids who want to be archaeologists in the future?

Welcome to the most brilliant, exciting way of discovering the stories hidden in the world around you. Now remember to keep your sections straight, don’t leave tools lying around where somebody might step on them, and most importantly, try to marry a millionaire.More seriously – get really really good at statistics, use it in your archaeological work, and there’s a much better chance that the results you get won’t be nonsense.Also, don’t ever buy a holster for your trowel – everyone will mock you.

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