Home Dr. Britt Baillie-Warren is a Post-Doctoral Research Associate on the Conflict in Cities and the Contested State ESRC funded research project. She is currently investigating the politics of cultural landscapes in Jerusalem. She is also one of the coordinators of the Cambridge Heritage Research Group and the Director of Studies for Archaeology and Anthropology at Peterhouse. Britt features in National Geographic's documentary entitled: 'Viking Apocalypse' in which she explores the fate of 54 beheaded skeletons found in a mass-grave in Dorset, UK. She completed her PhD in Archaeology and Heritage Management at the Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge. Her thesis title was 'The Wounded Church: War, Destruction and Reconstruction of Vukovar's religious heritage'. In 2010 she was the course coordinator and primary lecturer on the Cambridge University Institute for Continuing Education course entitled: From Auschwitz to Ground Zero: dealing with heritage that hurts. In 2009 she was the primary lecturer for the undergraduate Heritage Module at the Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge. She has also contributed to the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property's forthcoming 'Living Heritage: A Handbook'. Her current research focuses on Jerusalem's landscape, heritage and environment. Britt Baillie-Warren's current research interest include: the politicization of cultural heritage, memory and identity, religious uses and concepts of space, theories of destruction, dark heritage, Vikings, and Medieval Archaeology.

Landscaping Jerusalem

The battle for land(scape) and territorial control is a key element in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and the 'struggle for Jerusalem'. This Conflict in Cities research module traces how the construction of the separation barrier has altered Jerusalem's landscape in terms of shifting 'ownership', land use patterns and access to natural resources. Research by Pullan, Baillie and Karkaby has focused on the impact of the wall on the archaeologically rich and environmentally sensitive Refaim Valley-'the bread basket of Jerusalem'. Here environmental and heritage discourses are being used to legitimize the transformation of the valley from a Palestinian agricultural resource to an Israeli 'Biblical landscape' conservation area. In turn, this work examines the Palestinian cooption of the 'preservationist' discourse, through UNESCO Palestine's Battir Cultural Landscape Project, as a strategy of resistance. This research also situates the valley within the region's wider water wars. In September 2010 a research trip was conducted in which qualitative interviews and site observation was undertaken. For more information about the work of Conflict in Cities click here

Viking Apocalypse

In 2009, a pit containing the bodies of 54 beheaded skeletons was found on Ridgeway Hill in Dorset, UK. Radio Carbon dates indicate that the men died between 980 and 1030 AD. In this programme, Britt Baillie-Warren explores why these men were killed at the turn of the first millenium. Isotope analysis indicates that the bodies in the mass-grave were Vikings from Scandinavia. The documentary follows Dr. Baillie-Warren as she examines the site, the human remains and manuscripts from the period. She explores the possibility that the men were killed in battle or that they were victims of the St. Brice's day massacre in which Aethelred ordered the death of all Danish men in the kingdom. Baillie's anaylysis draws to the conclusion that the beheaded men may have been Viking mercenaries who modelled themselves on the Jomsvikings. However, the men may have been hostages, or elites figthing on the behalf of Sven Forkbeard or King Knut. The programme was aired on December 22nd 2011 in the USA and premiered on January 25th 2012 in the UK. Find out more, watch a teaser and view photographs on the Viking Apocalypse web page. This story was covered by BBC on-line, The Daily Mail, The Telegraph and CBS news.

Cambridge Collaborations for Community Heritage

Dr Carenza Lewis has been successful in a bid to the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for the Cambridge Collaborations for Community Heritage project, in partnership with the Office of External Affairs at the University of Cambridge. This arose out of the AHRC Connected Communities programme call for Research Development Awards. The funding secured is for the first stage of the programme matching Cambridge researchers up with community organisations interested in researching aspects of local heritage. A series of events are likely to take place in May and June to help make contact. Once established, the research groups can then apply for up to £40,000 in late 2012 to conduct the research. Researchers who are included in the bid include Carenza Lewis herself, Susan Oosthuizen, Britt Baillie-Warren and Helen Geake amongst others.

Vukovar Project

The wounded church: War, destruction and reconstruction of Vukovar's religious heritage.

Angkor Project

Angkor Wat: Conserving the sacred? A relationship between heritage management and Buddhism.

Action Street Messages

Action Street Messages is an NGO that Dr. Baillie-Warren helped to set up to tackle divisive graffiti in Vukovar.

Heritage Module

Heritage Module Click here for the module outline and bibliography. This is a module that Dr. Baillie-Warren designed and taught at the Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge in Spring 2009. The module is designed for second and third year students.

Other Affiliations

European Archaeological Association - Member.

ICOMOS / ICAHM international Committee on Archaeological Heritage Management - Affiliate Member.

Global Pact / Action Street Messages - Member.

[Excavating at Reykholt, Iceland - 2002]

Recent & Upcoming Events

Lecture February 10 2012, Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge. Mphil A and B. Lecture entitled: Conservation in the city: the politics of the past.

Documentary: 25 January, National Geographic UK, Viking Apocalypse.

Documentary: 8 January, National Geographic Denmark, Viking Apocalypse.

Documentary: 22 December, National Geographic USA, Viking Apocalypse.

Presentation: 15 November Vukovar '91. - dvadeset godina poslije [Vukovar '91-Twenty years on], Ivo Pilar Institute, Vukovar, Croatia. Presentation entitled: 'Memorializing the martyred city: negotiating conflict-time in Vukovar'.

Exhibition: 3-5 November 2011 ESRC's Festival of Social Science. Exhibition entitled: Capturing Urban Conflicts, Department of Architecture, London Metropolitan University

Exhibition: 19-23 October 2011 Cambridge University's Festival of Ideas. Exhibition entitled: Capturing Urban Conflicts, Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge

Co-chair:3-5 November 2011 Cambridge Heritage Research Group Seminar, Personal Reflections on the State of Heritage: A conversation with David Lowenthal, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge.

Exhibition: 19 - 21 May 2011 Urban Conflicts conference, Queen's University Belfast. Capturing Urban Conflicts The exhibition consisted of maps of contested cities which were accompanied by a series of photo-essays which provided a glimpse into an aspect of everyday life in these cities. The exhibition provided an opportunity for the project to showcase some of its visual research--a key element in the work of CinC. Britt Baillie was part of the exhibition design team. She also authored three of the exhibition's photo-essays: Living With Dangerous Spaces: Ruins in Vukovar, Urban Allusions in Contested Cities, and Vanishing Walaja: Changing Landscape in South Jerusalem.

Chair: 21 May 2011. Urban Conflicts conference, Session entitled: 'Conflict in Cities Visualised'.

Presentation: 20 May 2011 Urban Conflicts conference, Queen's University Belfast. Presentation entitled: ''Staking Claim: Monuments and the Making (and Breaking?) of a Border Matrix in Vukovar'.

Presentation: 13 May 2011 City Seminar Workshop, CRAASH, University of Cambridge. Presentation entitled: 'Core Dilemmas: Reconstructing Vukovar's Historic Centre'.

Presentation: 15 April The Heritage of Memorials and Commemorations-12th Cambridge Heritage Seminar, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge. Presentation entitled: 'Problematic patrimony: The role of an 'obsolete' memorial in Vukovar'.

Presentation: 27 January 2011 Heritage Research Group Seminar Series , McDonald Institute, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge. Presentation entitled: 'Dangerous Spaces and Terrible Places: Remaking Vukovar's Heritagescape.'

Presentation: 25 October 2010 Cambridge Heritage Fair, McDonald Institute, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge. Presentation entitled: 'Conflict in Cities'.

Panel Contribution: 8 October 2010 Division and Connection in Contested Space Seminar, Durham University.

Lectures: 24-26 September 2010 Institute for Continuing Education, University of Cambridge. Course title: From Auschwitz to Ground Zero: dealing with heritage that hurts. Britt Baillie designed this course and gave the following lectures: 'Introducing dark tourism and heritage that hurts', 'Politics of the past: managing heritage that hurts', and 'Atrocity Authenticity?: interpreting and selling atrocity'.

Lecture: 1 July 2010 Cambridge University Further Education Summer School. Lecture entitled: 'Conflicting Pasts and Contested Sites: The Politics of Archaeology'.

Presentation: October 17th 2009. ICCROM/SPAFA Living Heritage working meeting. Presentation entitled: The Living Heritage Approach.

Job: September 2009-? Royal Archaeological Institute, London .

Internship: March-May 2009. ICCROM, Rome.

Lectures: January-March 2009. Heritage Management Module for Part IIB students at the Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge.

Presentation: December 17th 2008. TAG, Southampton.Erase and Rewind: Dealing with the 'Occupation' of Vukovar. Archaeologies of Military Occupation session.

Lecture: November 7th 2008. MPhil Heritage Management and Museums, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge. Lecture entitled: Politics of the Past

Presentation: November 4th 2008. Peterhouse Theory Group. Paper entitled: Heritage reconstruction: the continuation of war by other means?

Chair: September 18th 2008. European Association of Archaeologists Conference, Valetta, Malta. Session entitled 'Deconstruction Post-Conflict Reconstruction'. Call for Papers.

Presentation: July 20th 2008. Global Pact Vukovar.  Alternative Tour of Vukovar.

Presentation. July 28th 2008. Global Pact Vukovar. Paper entitled: Reconstruction of Vukovar’s Cultural Heritage.

Presentation: July 5th 2008. Oxbridge Summer School. Paper entitled Forensic Archaeology, Making Bones Speak.

Presentation: July 5th 2008. Summer Discovery. Paper entitled Forensic Archaeology, Making Bones Speak.

Presentation: June 30th 2008. World Archaeological Conference, Dublin, Ireland. Paper entitled 'War and the ethics of reconstruction: the case of Vukovar'.

Presentation: May 13th 2008. Graduate Seminar Series, Department of Archaeology, Cambridge. Paper entitled 'Vukovar: Deconstructing the concept of reconstruction'.

Presentation: April 24th 2008. Cambridge Heritage Research Group, Department of Archaeology, Cambridge. Paper entitled 'Post-Conflict Reconstruction as communication'.

Field trip: April 11-20th 2008. Department of Archaeology, Cambridge, Easter field trip-to the Balkans.

Seminar: April 19th 2008. - Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge 9th Cambridge Heritage Seminar: Packaging the Past: The Commodification of Heritage.

Lecture: March 10th 2008. Intensive Program on Total Quality Heritage Management. Macao, Portugal. Lecture entitled: Cultural Heritage in the Line of Fire.

Survey: March 2008 Fitzwilliam Greek and Roman Gallery pre-refurbishment survey.

Presentation: January 22nd 2008.- CRASSH Post-Conflict and Post-Crisis Research Group Seminar: Religion in Post-Conflict. Paper entitled 'Managing religious heritage in a post-conflict setting: Angkor Wat and Vukovar.

Presentation: November 15th 2007 Post-conflict and religion seminar series. St. Edmunds, Cambridge. Paper entitled 'The wounded church: war, destruction and reconstruction of Vukovar's religious heritage'.