Qatar Natural History Group

Richard studied Archaeology at the University of Birmingham and has spent much of the past 10 years working on projects in the Gulf region. In Qatar he has worked on excavations at Al Khor Island, and has since worked on almost exclusively Neolithic projects in Kuwait and Abu Dhabi.

Last year Richard returned to Qatar with a team from Birmingham to collaborate on a new remote sensing project with the Department of Antiquities. The project uses remotely sensed data from the marine and terrestrial areas of Qatar to identify and record archaeological sites. Before 8,000 years ago much of the Gulf was an open landscape, and for this reason the marine areas are considered of particular importance. The project is also pioneering the new Qatar National Historic Environment record. Richard will be discussing a number of Neolithic sites and their regional significance for the Qatar remote sensing project.