Mr Peter Masters

Research Fellow
Location: Shrivenham campus
E: p.masters@cranfield.ac.uk
T: +44 (0)1793 314465
Department of Engineering and Applied Science


Current activities

First World War trenches, Belgium, Salisbury Plain Great War practice trenches, Roman landscape in Northamptonshire, historic battlefields

Teaching geophysics

Clients

Defence Estates, CAM ARC, Environment Agency, CLASP

Background

HND Archaeology, Dorset Institute of Higher Education (1986)

BA (Hons) Archaeology, University of Southampton (1988)

Peter joined Cranfield University after 17 years in the public and private sectors in the archaeological profession.

In the public sector, he was employed by Northamptonshire County Council to assist with the English Heritage funded landscape project, the Raunds Area Survey. At this time Peter developed the interest in the application of geophysical surveys to archaeological sites and expanded this service on a commercial and research basis. He worked on a number of high profile projects including Kirby Hall, Northamptonshire and the Privy Garden at Hampton Court Palace.

In 2002, Peter joined a private company called Pre-Construct Geophysics, which provided an archaeological geophysics service for archaeologists and developers alike.

He has brought his expertise to Cranfield to also develop the commercial and research arm of the department. Peter has been undertaking work for the Defence Estates on Salisbury Plain since he joined the university.

Peter is currently completing his MSc. research thesis on Flandrian Environmental changes on the south coast of England.

Selected publications

De Clercq, W., De Smedt, P., Herremans, D., Masters,  P.   2012  Towards an Integrated Methodology for Assessing Rural Settlement Landscapes in the Belfgian Lowlands. Archaeological Prospection published online arp.1418.

Stichelbaut, B. and Masters, P. 2011  Vu D’en Haut et sous le sol. La Decouverte et la Mise Sur Carte de Tranchees de la Premiere Guerre Mondiale A Warneton, Hameau de Saint-Yvon (Hainaut, Belgique). Memoire de la Societe d’histoire de Comines-Warneton et de la Region 41, 289-296.

Juerges, A., Pringle, J.K., Jervis, J.R., and Masters, P.   2010  Comparisons of magnetic and electrical resistivity surveys over simulated Clandestine graves in contrasting burial environments. Near Surface Geophysics, 8, 529-539.

Masters, P and  Stichelbaut, B   2009   From the Air to Beneath the Soil – Revealing and Mapping Great War Trenches at Ploegsteert (Comines-Warneton), Belgium. Archaeological Prospection 16 (4), 279-285.

Masters, P Magnetometer Surveys in Parry, S 2006 Raunds Area Survey – An Archaeological Study of the landscape of Raunds, Northamptonshire 1985-1994, Oxbow Books

Maull, A & Masters P, 2005 A Roman Farmstead and Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Glapthorn Road, Oundle, Northamptonshire Archaeology Vol. 33, pp 47-78