We are delighted to share a testimonial from a Duncan Williams, who embarked on a research stay at Ghent University in the fall of 2021.
This endeavor was undertaken in the context of his PhD research, which is hosted by the Waterloo Uncovered project, Bournemouth University-dpt. of Archaeology & Anthropology and Ghent University-ORBit.
“In the fall of 2021, I undertook a 2-month research stay at Ghent University in the framework of my PhD research, based at Bournemouth University. The goals were to conduct some initial fieldwork for my PhD, as well as to gain practical experience more generally with a range of geophysical survey methods and data processing workflows in collaboration with members of the PROSPECT network. Under the supervision of Dr. Philippe De Smedt, I was based at the ORBit (Spatial Soil Inventory Techniques) research group in the Department of Environment.
Despite the ongoing challenges of the COVID pandemic, the research stay was a definite success. Preliminary geophysical surveys were conducted at the battlefield of Waterloo (1815), which is the primary focus of my doctoral research aimed at elaborating prospection methods for identifying the elusive archaeological traces of pre-modern battles.
I also participated in several other projects being undertaken by the research group in other areas of Belgium, involving large-area electromagnetic, magnetometry and ground-penetrating radar surveys. Another highlight was my participation in the installation of a monitoring station for in-situ recording of seasonably-varying physical properties of interest as part of a novel survey optimization project undertaken by the research group.
The hospitality and expertise of PROSPECT staff members at Ghent University combined with the impressive suite of geophysical equipment housed at the ORBit research group made for an extremely rewarding and productive research stay.”
If you’re keen to explore a research stay at a PROSPECT member, please don’t hesitate to contact us via prospect@ugent.be.