Projects & Community Outreach

Web Analytics

Our team has been involved in numerous research projects, community outreach activities, field school and other training both in the UK and abroad.


Impact of Industrialisation on London Health

Ossafreelance is involved in this 3 year project headed by Jelena Bekvalac at the Centre for Human Bioarchaeology, Museum of London, having been awarded the Rosemary Green Grant by CoLAT.

The project has involved undertaking a survey of a sample of skeletal elements from c. 2,500 individuals from both London and outside the city using digital radiography.

Ossafreelance is currently carrying out background research and data collation for the project. Recently, we have created a digital archive of 3D models of some of the elements we have been looking at radiographically, using photogrammetry. We’re pretty pleased with the results and are surprised how accurate the results are using this method. Follow us on SketchFab to see the full archive:


Barbarians: ‘The Age of Iron’ Exhibition: New Light on Kemerton Camp

This exhibition was put together by Deborah Fox at the Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum, assisted by Ossafreelance, and inspired by the recent research undertaken by Derek Hurst and Gaynor Western to reappraise the finds from the Iron age hillfort at Kemerton Camp, Bredon Hill thanks to funding from the Royal Archaeological Institute.

This provided a great opportunity for the public and local school groups to appreciate some of the impressive artefacts from the site as well as to learn about the analysis of the human remains from the ‘massacre’ layer, which revealed many examples of gruesome peri-mortem sharp force trauma, documented by Ossafreelance for the first time.

Over 21,800 visitors were welcomed to the galleries!

Images provided by Derek Hurst, Worcestershire Archaeology


Professional Development Training- Work Placement Internship with Odyssey Fieldschool in Cyprus

The work placement initiative by Odyssey Fieldschool gives recent graduates in the disciplines of osteoarchaeology and forensic anthropology the opportunity to work in a professional laboratory-based setting whereby they are directly involved in the assessment, analysis, recording and cataloguing, as well as curatorial aspects of human remains. Being part of the ongoing project of recording and archiving the Cyprus Reference Research Collection (CRRC), the work placement initiative incorporates a strong learning element participants which aims in the professional development of the participants.

The internship takes place in a fully operational ossuary that also serves as laboratory space for the analysis of the collection. The participants are taught of the laboratory’s SOP, learn how to implement  analytical methods that are population-relevant, and work both independently as well as part of a team. The work is fully supervised and each participant must present/discuss their cases to/with the team as part of the finalizing process for each case. Participants learn additional skills such as ethics and handling aspects relating to human remains, bone photography for cataloguing and publication, database management, electronic and paper form recording methods, report writing, and the various stages of commercial tenders and their link to planning applications and planning conditions in the UK.

The objective of the internship is to prepare graduates for employment in the commercial and heritage management sectors in the UK and abroad. The internship also provides participants with the skills to embark upon advance research in the future.