Dr Stephanie Blankshein

Stephanie’s research explores archaeological and environmental datasets through digital and computational methods. Her expertise includes aerial and underwater photogrammetry, geophysical survey, laser scanning, GIS and 3D modelling. She is particularly interested in integrating terrestrial and maritime datasets and bridging natural and cultural heritage through interdisciplinary approaches.

She has developed this expertise through five years of postdoctoral research on the AHRC-funded Islands of Stone project. She has also led a British Academy-funded project applying 3D radar to freshwater archaeological sites, and is Co-lead on an AHRC Impact grant in partnership with the Calanais Visitor Centre and Western Isles Council, delivering accessible and engaging heritage content.

She has also worked on a diverse range of projects across Europe, contributing to surveys and excavations, both above and below water, in Spain, Bulgaria, Hungary, England and Scotland. In addition, she has delivered training workshops in England, Wales, Cyprus and Croatia, building capacity for scientific diving and heritage science across a range of government, non-profit and commercial organisations.

Her doctoral thesis examined movement and connectivity in the Neolithic Outer Hebrides using palaeogeographic and palaeotidal reconstructions to computationally model least-cost terrestrial pathways and seafaring routes. This work was analysed alongside a geospatial analysis of the archaeological record to investigate the formation and maintenance of a regional cultural identity.

Her MSc dissertation focused on the maritime aspects of Iron Age roundhouse settlement in the Hebrides, using sea level and landcover reconstructions to analyse topographic prominence, visibility and distribution patterns. This research was awarded the Royal Archaeological Institute’s Master's Dissertation Prize (2014–2015).