UCL Institute of Archaeology

• Honorary Senior Research Associate
• Field Director and Project Coordinator of the Çatalhöyük Research Project, has worked on the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük in central Anatolia 1995-2012.

The Çatalhöyük Research Project is widely regarded as a pioneering archaeological project, developing new field and research methodologies, including public engagement and community collaboration activities in Turkey. Since 1997 Shahina has been Field Director for the project, and since 1999 engaged full-time in both the project administration and direction of the annual 3 – 4 month field seasons, and the rigorous post-excavation research and publication schedule. An additional role is to act as a central communication person for the project, and in this she continually facilitates other researchers in their studies. As Field Director she implements and monitors excavation and recording methodologies to enable the projects high standards of data recovery and dissemination. As Coordinator for the project she ensures the smooth running and flow of communication and interaction of the 200 plus international team of academics, researchers, students and employed team towards dissemination, research and publication.

Since 2007 the Çatalhöyük Research Project has been based at the UCL Institute of Archaeology, where many project collaborators are based.

Research Interests

With a background heavily grounded in field excavation, Shahina’s perspective is firmly based within the rigour and accuracy of archaeological methods and the resulting data, which at Çatalhöyük we collate in an innovative, fully integrated, relational database and GIS.

Professional History

After graduating from the University of Liverpool in Archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean in 1986, Shahina worked as a professional field archaeologist, mostly for London based units (Museum of London’s Department of Urban Archaeology (DUA), Newham Museum Services, Pre-Construct Archaeology), as well as spending seasons on projects in Turkey, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Shahina has garnered a practical understanding of the complexities of archaeological interpretation from nearly 30 years experience working on and directing this wide range of international and multi period sites. Most recently she has been integral in developing the research agenda at Çatalhöyük, which is an internationally renowned model of data integration and multidisciplinary collaboration.

Shahina is a Member of Council for the British Institute at Ankara and on its Research and Publication Committee and a member of the Çatalhöyük Research Project Steering Committee.

• Forthcoming From excavation to dissemination - Breaking down the barriers between archaeology and the public, Shahina Farid. Proceedings of Sharing Archaeology conference, Beijing 4-7 November 2008 (The International Centre for Chinese Heritage and Archaeology (ICCHA), a collaborative project between the School of Archaeology and Museology of Peking University and the Institute of Archaeology of University College London).
• 2008 Twiss, K. C., A. Bogaard, D. Bogdan, T. Carter, M. P. Charles, S. Farid, N. Russell, M. Stevanovic, E. N. Yalman and L. Yeomans Arson or Accident? The Burning of a Neolithic House at Çatalhöyük. Journal of Field Archaeology 33(1):41-57.
• 2008 Meskell, L. C. Nakamura. R. King & S. Farid, Figured lifeworlds and depositional practices. Cambridge Archaeological Journal.
• 2006 Growth of the Settlement, S. Farid in From Earth to Eternity: Çatalhöyük. M. Haydaroglu, ed. Pp. 163-169. Istanbul: Yapi Kredi Yayinlari.
• 2005 “Neolithic Excavations in the South Area, East Mound, Çatalhöyük 1995-99” in Excavating Çatalhöyük: South, North and KOPAL Area reports from the 1995-1999 seasons, Edited by Ian Hodder, McDonald Institute Monographs
• 2001 An Excavation at 6 – 16 Old Church Street, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Shahina Farid with contributions by Chris Jarrett, Malcolm Lyne, Peter Moore and Ken Sabel. Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archaeology Society Journal, Vol. 51, 2000
• 2000 The Excavation Process at Çatalhöyük” Shahina Farid with contributions from team members, in Towards reflexive method in archaeology: the example at Çatalhöyük, Edited by Ian Hodder
• 1997 A Butchery Site in Lundenwic, Shahina Farid and Gary Brown, London Archaeologist 1997, Vol 18 pg 146 – 152
• 1997 “The Architectural History of the Temple”, Shahina Farid, Robert Killick, in The Dilmun Temple at Saar, Bahrain and It’s Archaeological Inheritance by Harriet Crawford, Robert Killick and Jane Moon
• 1996 “Exploring the 1960s’ Surface: the Stratigraphy of Çatalhöyük”, Wendy Matthews and Shahina Farid in On the surface: Çatalhöyük 1993 – 95, Edited by Ian Hodder, McDonald Institute Monographs
• 1995 London-Bahrain Archaeological Expedition, Excavations at Saar 1993 season. Arabian Archaeology & Epigraphy. Jane Moon, Shahina Farid, Alison Hicks, Martin Hicks & Jennifer Kiely. 1995:6 139 – 156.

Appearance and Facilitation of TV & Radio Documentaries

• 2010 Lion TV, documentary
• 2009 Channel 4 ‘Man on Earth’. Tony Robinson examines how changes in climate have affected humans throughout history and asks what we can learn as we face our own climate crisis today
• 2009 BBC Blue Peter at Çatalhöyük
• 2008 Discovery Channel
• 2002 BBC - Radio 4 - Unearthing Mysteries, Aubrey Manning presents a new series of archaeological mysteries from around the world.
• 2001 Turkish Radio & Television. Documentary about the excavations at Çatalhöyük.
• 1999 BBC ‘Secrets of the Stone Age’. Anthropologist and author Richard Rudgley sets off on an epic journey back in time and around the world to discover the real roots of civilisation
• 1998 BBC ‘Road to Riches’. Money is one of the most powerful forces in all our lives. But how did we become money-makers? This landmark BBC documentary series travels through time and across continents to chart the story of mankind's progress from primitive hunter-gatherer to modern wealth creator.
• 1996 Documentary on new technologies used at Çatalhöyük. Karlsruhe Team.

Magazine Articles

• 2008 Earliest date for milk use in the Near East and southeastern Europe linked to cattle herding. Richard P. Evershed et al. Nature 455: 528-531
• 2006  New Discoveries At Çatalhöyük. Shahina Farid. Minerva, UK
• 2005 Çatalhöyük, Shahina Farid. Odyssey, USA
• 2005 Çatalhöyük – Two mounds, one site. Shahina Farid Themenschwerpunkt: Archäologische Forschungen in der Türkei 3, Germany
• 2004 Çatalhöyük, The oldest town in the world? Current World Archaeology, Dec. Source
• 2004 Çatalhöyük – Settlement comes to the Konya Plain 9000 years ago. Shahina Farid. Popular History, Turkey

Website Publications

• 1995 – 2009 Archive Reports www.catalhoyuk.com
• 2006  Çatalhöyük: The Organization Of A Neolithic Society, The Journal Of Archaeomythology.

Presentations & Conferences

• 2010  Farid. S. Multiple voices in archaeological interpretation at Çatalhöyük - Evidential Reasoning in Archaeology – Workshop, University of Reading 4 June
• 2010  Farid. S. Past Relations – different approaches to the dead over time. Cambridge Antiquarian Society, Cambridge 17 April
• 2009 Life History of a Building at Çatalhöyük. British Association for the Advancement of Science. Guildford. September 9th. (Not attended due to extension to field season).
• 2009 The excavation Process at Çatalhöyük – Templeton seminar series, Konya, Turkey. July.
• 2009 Results of the 2008 Çatalhöyük season. International Symposium of Excavations, Surveys and Archaeometry. Çannakale, Turkey. May. (Not attended due to late change to timetable).
• 2008 From excavation to dissemination - Breaking down the barriers between archaeology and the public. Sharing Archaeology Conference, Beijing 4-7 November.
• 2007 Dismantling and Rebuilding the site at Çatalhöyük, Integrating Social Worlds at Çatalhöyük, Society for American Archaeology, Vancouver, Canada. March 29.
• 2005 2005 Field Season at Çatalhöyük. Workshop, Institute of Archaeology Research project at Çatalhöyük. UCL. May 6th.
• 2005 Results of the 2004 Çatalhöyük Excavations. International Symposium of Excavations, Surveys and Archaeometry. Antalya, Turkey. May.
• 2003 A 21st Century “Neolithic Revolution” at Çatalhöyük. The Reconstruction of Archaeological Landscapes through Digital Technologies, CNR. Rome 3-5 November.
• 2003 Overview of Heritage Management issues at Çatalhöyük. TEMPER Project, Oxford Brookes University, UK. September.
• 2003 The Sequence of excavation at Çatalhöyük. Tour Guides Workshop, Konya, Turkey. 24 – 27 July.
• 2000 Results of the 1999 Çatalhöyük season. International Symposium of Excavations, Surveys and Archaeometry. Izmir, Turkey. May.
• 1999 Overview of excavations at Çatalhöyük. ‘Friends’ of Çatalhöyük. Istanbul, Turkey. August.

Unpublished Reports

• 1998 An Archaeological Evaluation at ICL House, Putney High Street & Brew House Yard, Putney SW15, London Borough of Wandsworth. Shahina Farid. Pre-Construct Archaeology.
• 1997 Archaeological Evaluation at Barnwood Court, North Woolich Road, London E16.  Shahina Farid. Pre-Construct Archaeology.
• 1997 Archaeological Investigations at North Street/George Street, Barking. Shahina Farid & Duncan Hawkins. Pre-Construct Archaeology.
• 1997 A Publication Proposal for an Archaeological Excavation at the Lyceum Theatre, 33 – 37 Exeter Street, City of Westminster. Shahina Farid. Pre-Construct Archaeology.
• An Archaeological assessment Report and Publication Proposal for a Site at 6 – 16 Old Church Street, Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. Shahina Farid. Pre-Construct Archaeology.
• 1996 Archaeological Evaluation at the former Albert Dock Hospital, Baxter road, London E16. Shahina Farid. Pre-Construct Archaeology.
• 1996 An Archaeological Excavation Report for a site at 33 – 37 Exeter Street. Shahina Farid & Gary Brown. Pre-Construct Archaeology.
• 1994 Post Excavation Analysis Stratford Langthorne Abbey, London Borough of Newham. Shahina Farid. Newham Museum Services.
• 1994 Archaeological Evaluation at Cathall Road Estate, Leytonstone. Shahina Farid with contributions by Chris Jarrett. Passmore Edwards Museum.
• 1993 Archaeological Evaluation of Pimp Hall Estate, Chingford. Shahina Farid. Passmore Edwards Museum.
• 1992 Evaluation at Boundary Road estate, London Borough of Waltham Forest. Shahina Farid. Passmore Edwards Museum.