Dr Henry Webber

Biography 

Research Fellow in Crop Technology.

 

I am a part time lecturer in crop production and agronomy at the RAU, which I combine with a role as a policy adviser in Defra and work on the family run farm in Essex. My PhD was from the Universities of Bristol and Reading (in collaboration with Historic England), focusing on Precision Farming and Archaeology, studying the impacts that humans have had on the landscape for thousands of years and why this is important for land managers today and in the future.

Professional memberships

  • BASIS and FACTS Qualified
  • Member of the International Fertiliser Society
  • Member of the British Society for Soil Science
  • Assistant Editor for Essex Society of Archaeology and History
  • Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society

Research

Research 

My research interests lie in how humans impact landscapes, with a focus around agricultural systems and sustainability. I have a broad experience in both agriculture and archaeology which enable me to work across-disciplines utilising the latest science and technology to help answer questions about past agriculture and contribute to debates on future sustainability of landscape management. I have worked on several research projects in the UK, as well as internationally (Mongolia, East Africa, United States, Hungary, Finland) and specialised in landscape survey techniques, soil mapping, portable X-Ray Fluorescence, remote sensing technology and ground penetrating radar.

Teaching

Teaching 

I will be teaching modules this year on natural resource management and agri-technology under the MSc in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security, and the MSc in Agricultural Technology and Innovation. 

Publications

Publications 

  • Webber, H., Heyd, V., Horton, M. et al. Precision farming and archaeology. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 11, 727–734 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-017-0564-8
  • Myagmar, E., Webber, H., Parkes, G., Pecchia, V., & Horton, M. (2018). A Buddhist monastery revealed by UAV survey and ground-penetrating radar in eastern Mongolia. Antiquity, 92(363), E11. doi:10.15184/aqy.2018.104
  • Basell, L., Bray, L., Graham, C., Webber, H., Randall, S., and Crabb, A. (2020) Dartmoor Tor Enclosures Survey. Newsletter of the Prehistoric Society (PAST), No. 95, 1-4.

Media anda conferences

  • BBC Radio 4 Farming Today – On Your Farm ‘Secrets Beneath the Soil’ 2 August 2020
  • Agri-tech East Conference – REAP 2019
  • International Fertiliser Society Conference 2018
  • Use of 3D Digital Imaging in Cultural Heritage Recording, British Museum, London, 2017 
  • Workshop on Capturing Cultural Heritage in Eastern Africa, Stone Town, Zanzibar, 2017
  • European Conference on Precision Agriculture, Edinburgh 2017
  • The Future of Food and Anthropology, Oxford 2016
  • Near Surface Geophysics Group recent work in archaeological geophysics, London 2016
  • EUROSOIL conference, Istanbul 2016
  • European Association of Archaeologists Conference, Lithuania 2016
  • International Conference on Precision Agriculture, USA 2016
  • European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers conference, Turin 2015
  • British Society of Soil Science conference, Kent 2015
  • European Association of Archaeologists Conference, Glasgow 2015
  • Near Surface Geophysics Group recent work in archaeological geophysics, London 2014