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Dr Katie Faillace
(she/her)
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Teams and roles for Katie Faillace
Lecturer
Research student
Overview
I am a dental anthropologist and bioarchaeologist, studying human remains using macroscopic and molecular methods. My research focuses broadly on mobility, diet, and lifeways in the past. I also have an interest in methodological studies, interrogating and developing the techniques used for analysing human and animal remains. I have worked on projects ranging from the Neolithic to Post-Medieval period. Specific themes I'm interested in include:
- The application of multi-isotope analysis (carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, oxygen, strontium, lead) on osseous remains for investigating diet and mobility
- Dental morphological (ASUDAS) and metrical analysis for investigating population affinity
- Macroscopic osteological analysis for investigating past lifeways, with a specialist interest in social and biological age
- Innovations in isotopic analyses
Current projects include:
- The Medieval Population of Haverfordwest: Osteological and Isotopic Investigations of Medieval Welsh Lifeways
- Passage Tomb People: Stable Isotope Analysis of Humans and Animals from Neolithic Orkney and Ireland
- Life, Death, and Worship at his Majestie’s Tower of London: excavations outside the Chapel Royal and Royal Peculiar of Saint Peter ad Vincula
Publication
2025
- Holt, E. et al. 2025. Comparing machine learning isoscapes of 87Sr/86Sr ratios of plants on the island of Sardinia: Implications for the use of isoscapes for assessing the provenance of biological specimens. Science of the Total Environment 989, article number: 179880. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179880)
- Hawkins, A. J., Faillace, K., Madgwick, R. and Siddell, J. 2025. Life, death and worship at his Majestie’s Tower of London: excavations outside the Chapel Royal and Royal Peculiar of Saint Peter ad Vincula. Archaeological Journal (10.1080/00665983.2025.2491919)
- Faillace, K. 2025. Population dynamics and cultural transitions: A dental nonmetric investigation of the Iron Age to Early Medieval period in Wessex, England. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
2024
- Macheridis, S., Faillace, K., Hood, M., Sayle, K. L., Inglis, E. and Madgwick, R. 2024. Sheep ahoy: Exploring sheep management and its role in Viking Age economy through multiproxy analyses at Löddeköpinge, Sweden. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 34(6), article number: e3355. (10.1002/oa.3355)
- de Gruchy, Y. A. et al. 2024. Bone of contention: Intra-element variability in remodelling of human femora based on histomorphometric and isotope analyses. PLoS ONE 19(6), article number: e0305089. (10.1371/journal.pone.0305089)
- Faillace, K. and Madgwick, R. 2024. Isotope analysis. In: Gilbert, D., Morgan-James, R. and Sinhott, S. eds. A Journey through 600 Years of History: Archaeological Investigations Along the A4226 Five Mile Lane Improvement Scheme. Red River Archaeological Monograph Cork: Red River Archaeology Group, pp. 434-456.
2021
- Scorrer, J. et al. 2021. Diversity aboard a Tudor warship: investigating the origins of the Mary Rose crew using multi-isotope analysis. Royal Society Open Science 8(5), article number: 202106. (10.1098/rsos.202106)
- Walker, E., Chapman, E., Chivall, D., Faillace, K., Hodkinson, P., Madgwick, R. and O'Regan, H. 2021. Carreg Cennen Castle Cave, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire: a review of the work undertaken by T. C. Cantrill in 1900. Archaeologia Cambrensis 170, pp. 67-76.
2020
- Faillace, K., Foody, M. and Madgwick, R. 2020. Exploring the potential of TEM analysis for understanding cooking at prehistoric feasting sites. Scientific Reports 10, article number: 13635. (10.1038/s41598-020-70628-4)
Articles
- Holt, E. et al. 2025. Comparing machine learning isoscapes of 87Sr/86Sr ratios of plants on the island of Sardinia: Implications for the use of isoscapes for assessing the provenance of biological specimens. Science of the Total Environment 989, article number: 179880. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179880)
- Hawkins, A. J., Faillace, K., Madgwick, R. and Siddell, J. 2025. Life, death and worship at his Majestie’s Tower of London: excavations outside the Chapel Royal and Royal Peculiar of Saint Peter ad Vincula. Archaeological Journal (10.1080/00665983.2025.2491919)
- Macheridis, S., Faillace, K., Hood, M., Sayle, K. L., Inglis, E. and Madgwick, R. 2024. Sheep ahoy: Exploring sheep management and its role in Viking Age economy through multiproxy analyses at Löddeköpinge, Sweden. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 34(6), article number: e3355. (10.1002/oa.3355)
- de Gruchy, Y. A. et al. 2024. Bone of contention: Intra-element variability in remodelling of human femora based on histomorphometric and isotope analyses. PLoS ONE 19(6), article number: e0305089. (10.1371/journal.pone.0305089)
- Scorrer, J. et al. 2021. Diversity aboard a Tudor warship: investigating the origins of the Mary Rose crew using multi-isotope analysis. Royal Society Open Science 8(5), article number: 202106. (10.1098/rsos.202106)
- Walker, E., Chapman, E., Chivall, D., Faillace, K., Hodkinson, P., Madgwick, R. and O'Regan, H. 2021. Carreg Cennen Castle Cave, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire: a review of the work undertaken by T. C. Cantrill in 1900. Archaeologia Cambrensis 170, pp. 67-76.
- Faillace, K., Foody, M. and Madgwick, R. 2020. Exploring the potential of TEM analysis for understanding cooking at prehistoric feasting sites. Scientific Reports 10, article number: 13635. (10.1038/s41598-020-70628-4)
Book sections
- Faillace, K. and Madgwick, R. 2024. Isotope analysis. In: Gilbert, D., Morgan-James, R. and Sinhott, S. eds. A Journey through 600 Years of History: Archaeological Investigations Along the A4226 Five Mile Lane Improvement Scheme. Red River Archaeological Monograph Cork: Red River Archaeology Group, pp. 434-456.
Thesis
- Faillace, K. 2025. Population dynamics and cultural transitions: A dental nonmetric investigation of the Iron Age to Early Medieval period in Wessex, England. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
Teaching
I am the module convener for:
- HST050 Human Osteoarchaeology
- HST900 Skills and Methods for Postgraduate Study
- HST051 Archaeological Science Dissertation & HST590 Archaeology Dissertation
- HS2423 Forensics and Osteoarchaeology
I also teach on:
- HS2125 Analysing Archaeology
- HS2130 the Archaeology of Britain
- HS2209 Applied Archaeological Science
- HST049 Biomolecular Archaeology
- HST060 Death and Commemoration
- HST090 Themes and Methods in Medieval Archaeology
