David Saunders

David Saunders read archaeology at the University of Buckingham obtaining a doctorate investigating how prehistoric cattle movement replicates cursus monument alignment. David continues to undertake an active role in numerous archaeological excavations. He has spent the last 6 years excavating within the Stonehenge World Heritage Site at the Mesolithic site at Blick Mead, and for many years has played an active role in the University of Reading’s annual archaeological field school, at excavations such as at the Neolithic site at Marden Henge, the largest henge site in the UK, at Cat’s Brain, the first Neolithic Long Barrow to be excavated for over 70 years and at the bath house within the Roman town of Silchester. David’s interest in animal movement extends to the animals and signs depicted within Palaeolithic cave art where he regularly acts as an expert guide on tours to the Dordogne region of France and the Cantabrian region of Northern Spain.

Growing up in West Sussex, living less than 50m from the rivers, floodplains and meadows of the Pulborough Brooks, David’s early memories are of wandering those pastures, moving through fields of cattle with fishing rod in hand, the herds often coming within a few feet, sometimes less, as they tried to discover what he was up to. Little did he know that those childhood experiences of long summers spent interacting with cattle would play such an important role in his future archaeological career.