Mrs Hazel Blake

I am currently working towards my PhD at the University of Stirling, which is joint funded by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) looking at heritage landscapes and their micro- hydrology.

My past research has looked at the legacies of the illicit and licenced trade of whisky in Scotland and their site legacies. During my undergraduate I used GIS to determine the locations of illicit whisky stills on the Isle of Arran. This was followed up by field work, to determine the elemental legacies of whisky production. Each site showed significant legacies from illicit whisky production.

I continued with environmental legacies, through looking at Kennetpans, funded by IFLI (inner OFrth Landscape Initiative, for my master’s programme. Within this research we looked at the legacies within the main distillery building and how the surrounding landscape was orientated to the workings of the distillery.

Archaeological landscapes are complex and as climates changes understanding their hydrological interactions has never been more important. My current research in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney , St Kilda and the Antonine Wall – Frontiers of the Roman Empire UNESCO World Heritage Sites is focusing on using non-invasive technologies to model soil moisture dynamics and determine how these may influence visitor access and long-term impacts on upstanding and buried archaeology.
In a climate changed future, the ability to monitor changes in soil moisture and so target conservation intervention will become increasingly essential to maintain the integrity of archaeological landscapes.