Souterrain is committed to professional standards and best practice for archaeology. Its directors are qualified archaeological and heritage professionals and full corporate Members of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (MCIfA).
Mercedes Planas
BA MSc MSc (Eng) MCIfA
Principal Surveyor
In August 2004 Mercedes took the lead at Souterrain, responsible for the development of a unique brand of specialised archaeological survey in the UK.
She is a Member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (MCIfA) with expertise in Research and Development. She graduated in Archaeology from Universidad Autonoma de Madrid in 1997. After attaining a wide experience of archaeological fieldwork she went on to specialize in GIS, graduating with a Masters degree in 2001.
In September 2011 she attained a Masters Degree in Engineering Surveying and Space Geodesy at the University of Nottingham.
Martin Wilson
BA (Hons) MIEnvSc MCIfA FSA Sc MInstLM MEAGE
Archaeologist and Heritage Consultant
Martin designs and executes effective schemes of archaeological mitigation to facilitate the discharge of planning conditions. He works predominantly with property developers, private house builders, architects and planning consultants.
A professional archaeologist with over 30 years experience in the planning and development sector he has worked extensively throughout Britain, and in Spain, Italy, Poland and the Middle East. He is a Member of both the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists and the Institution of Environmental Sciences, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
Specialisms
Martin’s specialisms include: Built Heritage Recording; Investigative excavation fieldwork; Historic Landscape Surveys and document preparation (inc. Heritage Asset Impact Assessments, Heritage Statements and other Desk-based Assessments). In addition, he has professionally-endorsed expertise in Near-surface Geophysics survey and interpretation. His academic specialist areas include the medieval and post-medieval landscape and pottery (Roman, medieval and post-medieval).
Background
Martin read archaeology at the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, with major focus on the Roman to Early Medieval periods, historic landscape survey and Roman pottery. He then held a three-year Research Associateship at the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Field Archaeology, before taking the position of Archaeological Inspector-Manager for a series of major British Gas pipelines. He was subsequently a Senior Project Manager for Oxford Archaeology, and, in turn, Principal Archaeologist for Gifford Consulting Engineers; responsible for a variety of development, infrastructure and heritage conservation projects.
Research
Concurrent with his professional career in archaeology Martin maintains an ethos of academic research and as published numerous papers on a range of archaeological themes. He has taught Archaeology courses at several prominent institutions - University of Cambridge, University of Warwick, Boston University in Spain, and Birkbeck College, University of London. Notably, from 1993 to 2002, he was funded by the University of Rome (La Sapienza) as a core research specialist of their annual Cultural Research Management Survey throughout the Upper Zarqa region of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Initially engaged as surveyor and pottery specialist (Roman to Islamic), he undertook an additional two seasons as Field Manager of a Palaeolithic exploration, ultimately progressing to Vice-Field Director.
His current theme of research in the UK is to bring to the public domain the results of several significant, yet previously unpublished excavations (Iron Age, Roman and Medieval) which were undertaken in Warwickshire by former eminent archaeologists, through a systematic programme of archive assessment and analysis.