International Women's Day 2020
In her own words...
- Robyn Lacy
Hello everyone, I’m Robyn, and I’m the new archaeological, cultural heritage, and social media technician at TMHC! As you can probably tell from my title, my job is a bit of a mixed bag, which absolutely keeps things interesting…every day is something new! I completed my MA in Historical Archaeology at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) in 2017, and moved to London shortly after to work in CRM, and was just accepted into MUN’s PhD program.
The panel [photo opposite], from the National Museum of Scotland, has a hexfoil in the centre. This symbol was used for personal protection for hundreds of years, from the home to the grave.
My favourite part of heritage work, besides getting out into the field and experiencing these sites and structures first hand, is really digging (hah) into the research to find out about the history of the space! I’m also really into digital public archaeology, and you’ll find me curating TMHC’s social media platforms this year (give us a follow @digTMHC on twitter and Instagram!). My own research outside of work focuses on burial grounds and landscape, gravestone conservation, and protective magic for the dead, and I’m always up for chatting about burial practices (e.g. The panel in the photo above, from the National Museum of Scotland, has a hexfoil in the centre. This symbol was used for personal protection for hundreds of years, from the home to the grave). I knew I wanted to be an archaeologist from a very young age (I’m talking grade 1), and apparently never changed my mind! I originally was interested in pursuing maritime or Mesoamerican archaeology, but after a field school in Irish cemeteries in 2011 I was hooked on mortuary arch.
Being a woman in cultural heritage is often challenging, especially in a primarily male-dominated CRM setting, and we still deal with sexism and harassment on a regular basis. Luckily, archaeology is starting to seeing a shift towards more representation of not just cis-women, but trans, queer, and intersex women in all aspects of heritage work! It’s really refreshing to see the community grow and support one another, especially at TMHC where we have so many amazing and inspiring women to learn from!
