Elizabeth A. Walker B.A., M.Phil., PhD, AMA, FSA
Elizabeth Walker was brought up in Porthcawl and studied archaeology at Lancaster University under the late Roger Jacobi. In vacations she commenced her association with AC-NMW, working with Stephen Aldhouse Green on his research projects including the early Neanderthal site at Pontnewydd Cave, Denbighshire, where she got her first paid employment as a temporary research assistant. Thus she got her foot into the door of the National Museum and has been there ever since, now holding the position of Principal Curator: Collections & Access and specialist curator for Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology at Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. Whilst employed, Elizabeth has studied part-time to obtain her M.Phil. and PhD degrees from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
Elizabeth has directed excavations at the Upper Palaeolithic cave site of Cathole Cave, Gower and on the early Mesolithic site on Burry Holms, Gower. She has also devoted time to the publication of others’ earlier work at many Welsh cave sites, enabling new techniques to be applied to stored material. Always mindful of the need to preserve a resource into the future, she has worked closely with collaborators to help take further the understanding of some of the contents of Welsh caves. She was the winner of the G.T. Clark Award for Prehistory in 2017; she is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and currently chairs the National Panel of Archaeological Archives in Wales.
Presidential Address