co-directed with Professor Henrietta Moore
Building on the long term research of Professor Henrietta Moore and myself, the Marakwet Heritage Project involves the integrated study of Marakwet social, cultural and ecological resilience, including the large-scale mapping of Marakwet landscape features and the collection of related oral historical records. The project formally began in 2011 and continues to uniquely utilise a local research team to collect a wide range of data using GPS, digital photography, questionnaires and interviews. Initial project phases focused on settlement patterns, clan and lineage distributions, land-tenure and field systems, irrigation systems, ritual/ceremonial sites and sites with attached stories or myths. In 2013 the research team will focus on changing temporal patterns of land-use and on the history of development interventions within the Marakwet landscape. The team will also trial a simple archaeological survey technique with the aim of conducting extensive basic survey in future seasons. A number of students have also been able to conduct small parallel projects as part of our broader research, these include Mr Sam Derbyshire (UCL/Oxford) on Marakwet material culture, Ms Grace Pollard (Oxford) on female exchange practices and Ms Anna Shoemaker (UCL) on Marakwet crop processing.
Henrietta and I have presented on the project at a number of events and are currently drafting a range of publications based on the first two seasons of fieldwork. Alongside Professor Caleb Adebayo Folorunso (Ibadan, Nigeria) the project was successful in securing a three year British Academy International Partnerships and Mobility grant which has allowed for the creation of a network of researchers working on African agricultural systems spanning the UK, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. This African Farming Research Network will hold its first field workshop in Marakwet in late 2013, with follow up workshops in Nigeria, South Africa and Cambridge. Field seasons in 2011, 2012, and 2013 have been generously funded by grants from the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge and BIEA and we further hope to develop a larger grant application for 2015. Plans for the future include extensive community outreach and public archaeology, especially the development of an online archive and website dedicated to the heritage of the Marakwet community and building on the current project website.
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Relevant Publications:
Davies, M.I.J. and Moore, H.L.M. 2012. The Marakwet Community Heritage Mapping Project: Report on the second season of fieldwork. McDonald Institute.
Davies, M.I.J. and Moore, H.L.M. 2011. The Marakwet Community Heritage Mapping Project: Report on the first season of fieldwork. McDonald Institute.
Dr Matthew Davies 
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