The Portable Antiquities Scheme

Michael joined the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) in 2000 as Finds Liaison Officer Kent, and was appointed Outreach Officer the following year. In 2003, following the expansion of the Scheme to the whole of England and Wales, Michael became Deputy Head of the PAS, and then (in 2005) Deputy Head of the Department of Portable Antiquities & Treasure, British Museum.  

Michael read his BA in History/Theology (Surrey/Roehampton), MA in Medieval Studies (York) and PhD in History (Kent). His PhD on The Archaeological Authority of the Bayeux Tapestry, was published as a British Archaeology Report (404) in 2005, and as a 'popular' book - entitled The Real World of the Bayeux Tapestry - in 2008. That year Michael co-organised an international symposium on the Bayeux Tapestry, which was published in 2011 as The Bayeux Tapestry: new approaches (with Gale Owen Crocker and Dan Terkla).

Michael also has edited PAS annual reports since the 2001-2002 report, and also the combined PAS & Treasure Annual Reports since the 2007 report. He co-edited (with Sally Worrell, Geoff Egan, John Naylor and Kevin Keahy) A Decade of Discovery: proceedings of the PAS Conference 2007, and is current editor of the Scheme's contribution to Post Medieval Archaeology. 

Michael has also written numerous articles/reviews/notes on medieval and post-medieval small finds, the Bayeux Tapestry, and tenth/eleventh-century manuscripts. 

Michael is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA) and a Member of the Institute for Archaeologists (IfA). He is also the Secretary of the Portable Antiquities Advisory Group (PAAG), and is an Adviser to the All Party Parliamentary Archaeology Group (APPAG). He sits on the IfAs Professional Development & Practices Committee and the Finds Research Group, and is a member of the Archaeological Archives Group. He also is a Special Police Constable with the Metropolitan Police Services' Art & Antiques Unit.  

Michael is deputy to Roger Bland (Head, PAS) and in that capacity helps manage the work of the Scheme's Finds Advisers and Finds Liaison Officers, and the Scheme's advocacy work. He co-ordinates the production of the Portable Antiquities & Treasure Annual Reports and other literature produced by the Scheme. He is the main contact for monitoring eBay, export licensing and heritage crime.