Dr Alexander Thomas

Dr Alexander Thomas is a researcher and web designer. Originally from Hertfordshire, Alexander holds undergraduate , masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Bristol.

His recently completed PhD in Archaeology and Anthropology examined the archaeological and manuscript landscapes of the late 9th century AD Danelaw Boundary. A paper based on Alexander's research was a top-3 finalist at the 2020 John Hurst Memorial Prize , organised by the Medieval Settlement Research Group. During his studies, Alexander also led various seminars, tutorials and workshops for first and second year anthropology and archaeology students.

Alexander has worked as a proof-reader with Pen & Sword Books for their archaeology and historical fiction imprints, including the following titles:

Darwin's Apprentice: An Archaeological Biography of John Lubbock (Owen 2012).
The Woodville Connection (Martin 2013).
An Archaeological History of Britain (Eaton 2014).
Early Ships and Seafaring Volumes 1 and 2 (Grail 2014 & 2015).
An Archaeology of Human Decapitation Burials (Tucker 2014).
That Quiet Earth (Fellows 2014).
How Compassion Made Us Human: An archaeology of prehistoric sentiment (Spikins 2015).
An Anthology of Ancient Mesopotamian Texts (Franke 2016).
William Boyd Dawkins and the Victorian Science of Cave Hunting: Three Men in a Cavern (White 2016).
The Curse of the Pharaohs' Tombs': Tales of the Unexpected Since the Days of Tutankhamun (Harrison 2017).

Alexander has experience of various types of archaeological survey and of producing reports to Chartered Institute for Archaeologists’ (CIfA) standards.

His interests include art history and sailing. He has taken various courses at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, and has completed several Royal Yachting Association (RYA) courses and qualifications.

Researcher

Alexander is a keen researcher and the publication of his PhD thesis as a book remains a priority. This will include aspects of old and new research.

This new research centres around the relationships between the various Anglo-Saxon legal texts within the Quadripartitus collection. The legal texts of Kings Alfred (r. c. AD871 - 890), Edgar (r. AD959 - 975), Cnut (r. AD1016 - 1035) and Henry I (r. AD1100 - 1135) are of particular interest; examining the “legal text provenance” of the Danelaw Boundary.

The Danelaw Boundary

Agreed in the late 9th century AD between Kings Alfred and Guthrum, Alexander's doctoral research at the University of Bristol concerned the Danelaw Boundary (c. AD878 – 890) between the Danelaw and the Kingdom of Wessex. Alexander's lead supervisor was Dr Stuart Prior , and he was co-supervised by Dr Lucy Cramp and Professor Levi Roach (of Exeter University). He was also supervised by Professors Mark Horton and Joanna Brück . Research included:

the analysis of diverse data sources and the identification of anomalous patterns
the formulation of a methodology to examine a varied dataset, compiled from broad sources, using flat databases as well as landscape and data visualisation
the development of solutions to resolve research problems by adapting multidisciplinary methods.

Over the course of his PhD, Alexander was a chair, panellist and speaker at various international archaeology and medieval studies conferences including:

The University of Bristol Centre for Medieval Studies Postgraduate Conference
The Early Medieval Archaeology Student Symposium (EMASS)
Oxford Medieval Graduate Conference (OMGC)

Alexander has also co-organised several postgraduate archaeology and medieval conferences.

Teaching and Marking

Alexander has led various seminars, tutorials and workshops, on archaeological practice and theory units, for first and second year anthropology and archaeology undergraduates including:

Comparative World Archaeology
Pre-Excavation Techniques (renamed Archaeological Practice )
Social Theories
Material Culture

Alexander also has experience of marking first and second year undergraduate essays and exams.

Website Designer

Alexander has developed and built a variety of fluid websites for the media, education, and heritage sectors. He also has experience of building user platforms, possessing a working knowledge of the development and deployment of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs).

He is fully competent in Microsoft Office suite, Adobe Creative Cloud (including Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Dreamweaver), Quantum GIS (QGIS), ReflexW, Geoplot, and TerraSurveyor. He also has a working knowledge of Python, HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript and SQL.