The author
Photo by Mike Shepherd
I'm a UK-based engineering geologist, but was first attracted to ancient Egypt as a result of the controversy about the age of the Great Sphinx and what weathering and erosion could tell us about the age of that iconic monument. My initial work on the Sphinx led to other opportunities for research in the ancient world.
I was invited to join the Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project, to map the soils and rocks of the Saqqara necropolis and have enjoyed travelling with Ancient World Tours to Egypt, Morocco and Jordan.
Over the years, I have given illustrated presentations on my research and have published the findings in both peer-reviewed journals and magazines. I have also contributed to a number of TV documentaries. As my interest deepened, I began to focus on the fascinating geology of Egypt, culminating in the publication of A Gift of Geology in January 2023.
Since then I have been working on my next book, which will re-write the history of the Great Sphinx of Giza, which I hope to publish with Archaeopress.
If you would like to travel to Egypt to explore many of the fascinating sites discussed in A Gift of Geology, Ancient World Tours have put together an incredible itinerary for Cario for March 2026. Very much pyramid-focussed, this tour will explore the entirety of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, including the areas off limits to the public. We’ll also be exploring the vast network of beautifully finished subterranean corridors of the Black Pyramid and, most excitingly of all, the original ‘North Entrance’ of the Step Pyramid of Zoser. Please click here for more information from the AWT website.