Dr Helen Spencer FSAScot
Head of Research
Helen has been the ScARF Project Manager since 2018 and recently undertook the Head of Research role at the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. She has a BSc(Hons) in Archaeological Science from the University of Bradford and an MA in Conservation of Historic Objects from the University of Durham. She joined National Museums Scotland in 2000, working initially in the Conservation and Analytical Research department as both an artefact and preventive conservator before becoming Collections Care Manager in 2004. In 2012, started working as a freelance Museums and Heritage Consultant specialising in Conservation, Collections Care and Collections Management. She gained her doctorate from Heriot-Watt University, with her research being on the scientific analysis of window glass in Scotland from the medieval and post medieval periods. She loves glass of all periods and also works on glass finds analysis from excavations across Scotland.
Email: helen@socantscot.org
Dr Jennifer Allison FSAScot
Research Officer
Jennifer joined the ScARF team in 2022 and became the Research Office for the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 2024. She graduated from the University of Aberdeen with an MA in Archaeology and continued her studies with an MLitt in Material Culture and Artefact Studies at the University of Glasgow, where she developed a passion for early medieval archaeology and the study of everyday lives. She completed her PhD at the University of Aberdeen in 2023, researching Pictish household evidence and the manifestation of societal changes through domestic architecture. Jennifer has a keen interest in Scottish education and fully accessible heritage for all. Her favourite heritage includes Shetland’s archaeological landscape, especially the Broch of Mousa, and early medieval sculpture like Sueno’s stone in Forres.
Email: jennifer@socantscot.org
Regional Research Frameworks
Hannah Boyd MA (Hons) MRes
Research Manager, North East Scotland and Forth Valley & Fife Archaeological Research Frameworks
After graduating from the University of Edinburgh with an MA in History and Archaeology, Hannah started her career in the climate change team at HES. She completed an MRes at Orkney College UHI in 2021, investigating the palaeoenvironmental record associated with Bronze and Iron Age roundhouses in Wester Ross.
Hannah has excavated sites in Britain and Ireland, working for Rubicon Heritage, Historic England, and the Ness of Brodgar Trust amongst others. Working with RCAHMW, Hannah managed the outreach and engagement activities for CHERISH, an EU project which investigated sites at risk from climate change impacts on the coasts of Wales and Ireland. Hannah is joining the Society of Antiquaries from the Discovery Programme, which undertakes research projects across the island of Ireland. As Research Manager, Hannah will co-ordinate the Regional Research Frameworks projects for the North East and Forth Valley and Fife.
Email: hannah@socantscot.org
Isobel Littlewood MA (Hons) MSc
Research Officer, Forth Valley & Fife Archaeological Research Framework
Isobel joined the ScARF team in 2026 as the Research Officer for Forth Valley and Fife. She previously graduated from the University of Glasgow with an MA (hons) in Archaeology and an MSc focusing on Landscape Archaeology. Isobel has experience in both commercial and research sectors, including on large infrastructure projects, small developments, and research excavations dating from the Palaeolithic to the Post-Medieval across the UK. She has a particular interest in human impacts on palaeoenvironments and landscapes through the ages.
Email: isobel@socantscot.org
Kath Page BA (Hons) MLitt FSA Scot
Research Officer, North East Scotland Archaeological Research Framework
Kath graduated from the University of the Highlands and Island, Archaeology Institute, Orkney, with a BA (Hons) and an MLitt. Her interest in prehistory and zooarchaeology led Kath to pursue a PhD, funded by the Scottish Graduate School of Arts and Humanities (SGSAH), focusing on human-red deer relationships in Scottish prehistory and in contemporary Scottish culture. This thesis will be submitted in September 2026.
Kath believes that archaeology should be more accessible at a community level and as such was a committee member for Orkney Archaeology Society for many years. She is also interested in using deep time archaeological methodologies to address contemporary issues, resulting in collaborative projects with both heritage and environmental organisations.
Email: kath@socantscot.org