About

I’m Dr Mark McKerracher, an archaeologist with a passion for writing.

I’ve loved writing for as long as I can remember. One of my Middle School teachers particularly encouraged me, after enjoying my story about the adventures of a pencil! I still write poetry and fiction – historical and fantastical – including the Creatures of Flyn series.

As for archaeology: like so many of my generation, my interest was sparked by the TV series Time Team, which aired in the UK from 1994-2014. I studied Classical Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Oxford in 2005-8, went back to do a Masters in European Archaeology in 2009-10, and a doctorate in Anglo-Saxon agriculture in 2010-14. After jobs in archiving, freelance archaeobotany, project management and software development, I returned to Oxford in 2017 as a researcher at the School of Archaeology, working on the fantastic FeedSax project.

The whole subject is fascinating, but I’m especially interested in Anglo-Saxon England, archaeobotany (the study of ancient plant remains, especially burned grains), and the history of farming. Building on my experience in computer programming, I also enjoy designing and developing archaeological databases, and exploring the potential of Artificial Intelligence in archaeological research.