Award-winning archaeologist David Jacques to give free public talk in Buckingham

An award-winning archaeologist is giving a talk at the University of Buckingham about his internationally recognised work in discovering the origins of Stonehenge.

Prof David Jacques’ field of research explores the use of the Stonehenge landscape in the Mesolithic period (8500BC-4000BC). Since 2005 he has been project director of the internationally important Mesolithic archaeological site of Blick Mead, around a mile from Stonehenge.

His team has discovered the oldest occupation site in the Stonehenge area, likely where the communities who built the first monuments at Stonehenge lived. These discoveries have contributed significantly to a new understanding of the Stonehenge landscape's initial settlement patterns and practices. They have also provided key data for the protest against the Stonehenge tunnel, which the Blick Mead team has led.

Prof Jacques’ project at Stonehenge won Current Archaeology magazine's Research Project of the Year in 2018, and David won the Archaeologist of the Year award in 2023.

He said: “It has been a privilege leading a project which has involved so many great people in finding the first place in the Stonehenge landscape, and this result is the cherry on a cherry-filled cake."

Under his direction, the team’s work has featured on BBC’s Flying Archaeologist, Horizon and Operation Stonehenge, and a dedicated National Geographic documentary in 2020 which reached an audience of 65 million worldwide. It has also been extensively reported in the national and international media.

As a Fulbright alumnus, David has worked extensively to improve the education system of the Republic of Georgia. In 2011, he was chosen as one of two ‘Outstanding’ British Fulbright Teacher Program alumni of the past 60 years. He is a member of the John Adams Society, and the American Ambassador to the UK and his staff visited Blick Mead in 2021.

Prof Jacques’ talk. @Blick Mead: Exploring The First Place In The Stonehenge Landscape’, is on Tuesday, June 13, at 6pm at the vice-chancellor’s residence, Ondaatje Hall, on Church Street. Admission is free but should be booked online in advance.