Mark Nesbitt
Career
2005- Curator, Economic Botany Collection, Royal Botanic Gardens,Kew
1999- Ethnobotanist, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (see Kew website)
1998-99 Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Wainwright Fund, Oxford University
1997-98 Post-doctoral Research Fellow, British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara
1994-97 Ph.D. student and research assistant, Institute of Archaeology, UCL. NERC-fundedproject
on grass seed identification. Supervisor: Prof. Gordon Hillman.
1990-94 Freelance archaeobotanist. Sites included Saar (Bahrain), Merv (Turkmenistan),
Hallan Çemi and Kaman Kalehöyük (Turkey).
1985-90 Research Fellow, British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara
1983-84 M.Sc. in Bioarchaeology, Institute of Archaeology (now part of UCL)
1980-83 B.Sc. in Agricultural Botany, University of Reading
Excavations
Work in progress
Turkey
Aşvan: Multi-period excavations in eastern Turkey by David French, 1969-74.
Dilkaya: Early Bronze Age site on Lake Van. Results from one month of flotation in
1987.
Gordion: Iron-Age samples from Rodney Young’s 1960s excavations.
Kuruçay: Late Chalcolithic site in western Turkey with large deposit of Lathyrus
sativus.
Completed
Turkey
Hallan Çemi and Demirköy (1990-2000): Excavation by Michael Rosenberg of an early
Aceramic Neolithic village. Material passed to Manon Savard, who completed a Ph.D.
on it in 2005.
Kaman-Kalehöyük, Turkey (1991-1993): flotation recovered very rich samples from the
Late Bronze Age to Ottoman periods. Passed to Andy Fairbairn, Queensland University.
Höyücek (1989): Pottery Neolithic plant remains from burnt level. Published with
Daniele Martinoli.
Tille Höyük (1985-90): manuscript submitted 1990; revised 2006 for forthcoming report
on Iron Age levels.
Iraq
Qermez Dere and M’lefaat, northern Iraq (1987-1990): Aceramic Neolithic sites dating
to c. 10,000 uncal BP. Plant remains dominated by wild grasses and pulses. Material
passed to Manon Savard, who completed a Ph.D. on it in 2005.
Turkmenistan
Merv (1992-1994): excavation of Sasanian levels at a major Silk Road city, directed
by Georgina Herrmann, UCL. Analysis of the first three-year phase is now complete
and being prepared for publication with my collaborators, Sheila Boardman (seeds)
and Rowena Gale (charcoal). Ph.D. funding at Sheffield has been obtained for Boardman
to continue work on the 1995-97 samples.
Bahrain
Saar (1991-1993): first large-scale flotation of Dilmun period plant remains.
