Alison Sheridan

Alison Sheridan
Name	Alison Sheridan
Occupation	Archaeologist; Curator; Prehistoric pottery specialist
Employer	National Museums Scotland
Notable works	Studies of Neolithic pottery; Project leadership on prehistoric chronology
Awards	Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London; Fellow of the British Academy

Alison Sheridan Alison Sheridan is a Scottish archaeologist and museum curator noted for her work on Neolithic and Bronze Age prehistoric pottery, lithics, and chronological frameworks in Britain, Ireland, and northwest Europe. She has held senior curatorial roles at National Museums Scotland and contributed to major projects linking material culture, radiocarbon dating, and cultural contacts across regions such as Orkney, Shetland, and Brittany. Her research integrates fieldwork, laboratory analysis, museum collections, and interdisciplinary collaboration involving experts in dendrochronology, archaeozoology, and palaeobotany.

Early life and education

Sheridan was educated in Scotland where she undertook undergraduate and postgraduate studies leading to specialization in prehistoric archaeology. Her early academic formation brought her into contact with established scholars in British and Irish archaeology and with institutions such as the University of Glasgow, the University of Edinburgh, and research groups associated with the Council for British Archaeology. During her graduate training she developed methodological expertise relevant to Neolithic studies, including ceramic typology, lithic analysis, and the application of radiocarbon chronology used by laboratories like the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit and the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre.

Academic and curatorial career

Sheridan’s professional career has been centered at National Museums Scotland, where she served as a senior curator responsible for prehistoric collections, exhibitions, and research strategy. In that role she collaborated with museum departments such as the Department of Archaeology, curatorial teams working on collections from Orkney and Shetland, and conservation units interfacing with the National Records of Scotland. She has directed and participated in excavations and post-excavation programmes in sites linked to the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, liaising with regional bodies including Historic Environment Scotland and local archaeological trusts. Her curatorial practice emphasized the integration of museum display with current archaeological theory and public engagement initiatives led by institutions such as the British Museum and National Trust for Scotland.

Research and contributions

Sheridan’s research contributions focus on pottery traditions, exchange networks, and chronological refinement across the Neolithic and Bronze Age of northwest Europe. She has produced influential typologies for ceramic assemblages from the Outer Hebrides, Orkney, Shetland, mainland Scotland, Ireland, and Brittany, engaging with comparative frameworks used by scholars working on continental sequences in France, the Low Countries, and northern Germany. Her work on Grooved Ware and Beaker traditions examined connections between Britain and continental Europe, drawing on evidence from radiocarbon programmes, dendrochronological datasets, and petrographic thin-section analysis undertaken in collaboration with specialists at universities such as Cambridge, Durham, and Leiden. Sheridan has also contributed to debates on monumentality and social practice by linking material culture studies to prehistoric burial rites, timber architecture, and landscape archaeology research promoted by projects like the Heart of Neolithic Orkney and the European Research Council-funded investigations into prehistoric connectivity.

Major publications and exhibitions

Sheridan authored and co-authored numerous monographs, edited volumes, and museum catalogues that serve as standard references for Neolithic and Bronze Age pottery in Britain and Ireland. Her publications include detailed site reports, synthetic overviews of ceramic typology, and interpretative essays on cross-channel contacts; these works appear alongside collaborative contributions to international volumes on Neolithic exchange and chronology. As a curator she curated and co-curated exhibitions that showcased Scottish prehistory, developing display narratives for audiences together with designers and educational teams at National Museums Scotland and partner venues such as the Hunterian Museum and the Ulster Museum. Her editorial work has featured in leading journals and series produced by the Society of Antiquaries of London, the Council for British Archaeology, and university presses including Oxford and Cambridge.

Awards and honours

Sheridan has received recognition from professional bodies in archaeology and museum studies. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and a Fellow of the British Academy, honours that reflect her scholarly impact on prehistoric studies. Her contributions have been acknowledged through invited keynote lectures at international conferences, membership of advisory panels for national research councils, and awards associated with excellence in curatorship and publication presented by organisations such as the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists and the Museums Association.

Professional affiliations and outreach

Sheridan has been active in professional networks and outreach, serving on editorial boards, advisory committees, and steering groups for projects spanning Scotland, Ireland, and continental Europe. She has collaborated with universities including Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Queen’s University Belfast, and with research infrastructures such as Historic England and the European Association of Archaeologists. Her public outreach includes lectures for the British Academy public programmes, contributions to BBC documentaries on prehistoric Britain, and engagement with school and community archaeology initiatives supported by the National Trust and local archaeological societies. Sheridan’s career exemplifies a blend of museum curation, academic research, and public engagement that has shaped understanding of later prehistoric Britain and its European connections.

Category:Scottish archaeologists Category:Prehistorians Category:Curators