About Us
We are Dr Catherine Parker Heath and Dr Ian Parker Heath and are both experienced archaeologists and educators. 
Here’s the place to find out more about who we are and our archaeology and teaching backgrounds.
Catherine Parker-Heath
MA (Hons), PGCE, MA, PhD.
Catherine established Enrichment Through Archaeology in 2011 in response to requests to provide hands-on experience of archaeology and archaeological material to schools and home educators.  Not that it took too much arm twisting though. As it happens, she is actually rather taken with both archaeology and educating…
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Catherine’s background in archaeology began with a degree in Ancient History and Archaeology at the University of St Andrew’s.  This was followed by a master's degree in Greek Archaeology at the University of Birmingham.  She followed this up with her PhD, which examined the transition between the Bronze Age and Iron Age in Arkadia, Greece. 
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Whilst studying, she worked as an adult education tutor for both Birmingham City Council and later Derbyshire County Council teaching the Archaeology of Britain and the Peak District. After completing her doctoral studies and having children of her own, she turned her attention more fully to education, completing her PGCE in Primary Education in 2010.
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The following year, Catherine established Enrichment Through Archaeology which has continued to grow.  From starting out on her own, fellow archaeologist (and husband), Ian, has become increasingly involved and it is now a partner in the business. In fact, since Catherine started work as Cultural Heritage Officer for the South West Peak Landscape Partnership, then becoming Community and Conservation Archaeologist with the Peak District National Park, he now pretty much runs the show! She is, however, still on hand to develop and write new material, help deliver the odd workshop, and give advice on community archaeology projects.
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Catherine has been involved in fieldwork in Scotland, England, Greece & the Aegean, Israel and Palestine. She was a team member of the Medieval & Ottoman Building Survey, a long-term project supported by the British Academy, recording buildings such as houses, mosques and markets in the West Bank.
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From 2015 – 2017 she was Project Manager for Peeling Back the Layers: a Community Archaeology Project at Under Whitle in the Peak District.  In her role as CHO for the South West Peak, she delivered the Barns and Buildings Project and the Small Heritage Adoption Project, training and working alongside volunteers carrying out a range of archaeological fieldwork. Whilst doing this Catherine successfully completed a level 4 apprenticeship in project management. In her current role, her work is varied: she continues to work with volunteers, and with their help and that of her colleagues, looks after the cultural heritage of the national park. In 2024 she became a trustee of Buxton Civic Association.
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Catherine’s biggest claims to fame are appearing on stage with the Time Team (Tony Robinson, Francis Prior and John Gator) at Buxton Opera House as part of the Buxton International Festival in 2018 and on TV with Matt Baker on BBC Countryfile in May 2021!
Ian Parker-Heath
CTLLS, BA, MSc, PhD.
Ian delivers most of the school workshops, develops and leads CPD courses for teachers, works with community groups and in 2023 began leading archaeological tours of the Peak District. He also writes blogs and keeps up with the social media side of things. With experience of supervising and directing excavations, alongside many teaching roles, he is perfect for the job!
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After finishing his undergraduate degree in Archaeology at the University of Southampton, Ian undertook a PhD at the University of Manchester.  Following a long-standing interest, the subject of this research was the representation of Islam in British museums.
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Ian started teaching archaeology while he was at Manchester as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. He also ran a range of Adult Education courses in Archaeology at the University of Derby College Buxton.
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Like Catherine, Ian was a team member of the Medieval & Ottoman Building Survey, a long-term project supported by the British Academy, recording buildings in the West Bank. In fact, this is when they met, and their first date was a day trip to the ancient city of Jericho!
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Ian has also worked on Neolithic sites.  Between 1999-2002, he worked on the Dunragit Project. This excavation was of a substantial palisaded and pit-defined cursus monument near Stranraer.  Between 2004 and 2009 he was a supervisor on the Stonehenge Riverside Project, working with Prof Julian Thomas and Prof Mike Parker Pearson on a number of sites within the Stonehenge landscape. After this, he worked a further 3 years with Prof Thomas on sites in Herefordshire.
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From 2015-2017, Ian directed excavations for Peeling Back the Layers: a Community Archaeology Project at Under Whitle. He project-managed and directed excavations at a project based in Radbourne during 2018 – 2020 – The Search For The Old Hall and, after some delay due to Covid, has finally been working with the Tudor Farming Interpretation Group as project manager and archaeologist on Digging Deeper: The Origins of Whitle. Whilst this project has essentially ended, a further grant has enabled Ian and the group to carry out further research in ancient pollen found during this project. This is proving to be very exciting and final results should be available in 2024!