Dr R Helen Farr

Maritime Archaeologist

My name is Helen and I do archaeology underwater! I started out as an archaeologist working on land studying how people lived in the past. I love the adventure of excavating sites and finding ancient artefacts; it is really exciting when you realise that you are the first person to have seen or touched something in thousands of years!

I‘ve always been passionate about the sea and spent my spare time sailing and diving, so when I was choosing what to study I decided to combine my curiosity about the past with my love of the sea, hence maritime archaeology!

I am interested in the origins of seafaring and the shipwrecks that can be found on the sea floor, but maritime archaeology is not just about shipwrecks. Lots of the earth’s coasts have been flooded by rising seas and many very old archaeological sites are now preserved underwater. Studying environmental change and rising sea-levels in the past can also help us plan for sea-level rise in the future. This job combines so many things that I am interested in: learning about our past, our changing planet, and the science and technology that enables us to explore this.

Helen is our Under Pressure box champion.