Our Team

Richard Lewis BA FSA MCIfA – Managing Director & Chief UAV Pilot

Richard is an award-winning archaeologist with extensive experience delivering a wide range of archaeological projects across the United Kingdom and is a Landscape, Prehistoric and Industrial Archaeology specialist. Richard is also a professional UAV (drone) pilot and founded Black Mountains Archaeology Ltd in 2017 and Black Mountains Geomatics Ltd in 2021.

Richard has been a full Member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) since 2007 and is fully committed to maintaining the high professional Standards and Codes of the Chartered Institute. Richard is a member of the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society (RSPSoc), the Lithics Studies Society, the Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA) and was also a Leader with the Council for British Archaeology Young Archaeologists Club for six years.

Libby Langlands BA MA ACIfA – Senior Project Officer & UAV Pilot

Libby has a broad expertise across the historic environment sector. She graduated from the Institute of Archaeology, UCL with a BA(Hons) in Archaeology and an MA in Cultural Heritage Studies. She received her field archaeology training at MOLA and has worked on commercial and research excavations and post-excavation projects all over Southern England and Wales (MOLA, Oxford Archaeology, Wessex Archaeology, etc).

Libby has also worked in arts and heritage exhibitions including interpretation planning, content research and text writing for international and HLF projects (Researcher, Prince Research Consultants Ltd; Independent Consultant) and has managed exhibition logistics, transport, loans administration and installation (Operations Manager, Roche Court New Art Centre Contemporary Sculpture Park & Art Gallery). She has a wealth of experience in visitor services and operations management at a number of arts, museums and heritage venues (English Heritage; National Trust; Duty Manager, Operations Officer, Southampton City Council Arts & Heritage).

Libby works across the whole of the Black Mountains Archaeology project portfolio including DBAs, EIAs & ASIDOHL2s, excavation, surveying and post-excavation reporting. Her current projects include Llanharan Bypass and the Hafod-Morfa Copperworks where the team is developing the use of photogrammetry as a recording method on what is a complex industrial site. Libby is also an experienced UAV/drone pilot and currently holds an A2CofC qualification from the the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). She works in accordance with the company Operations Manual (OA).

Dr Rhys Morgan BSc BA MA PhD – Project Officer & UAV Pilot

Rhys has been working in commercial archaeology since 2015 and has experience in conducting fieldwork across the whole of Britain, particularly Wales and Southern Britain. In 2021, Rhys completed a PhD in archaeology at the University of Southampton under the supervision of Andrew Meirion Jones. Since completing his PhD, Rhys has developed a keen interest in industrial archaeology. His main areas of interest include ironworking, copperworking, coal mining and industrial transport in South Wales as well as Post-medieval pottery production in Britain as a whole.

Rhys undertakes a wide range of archaeological projects, including DBAs, EIAs & ASIDOHL2s, excavation, surveying and post-excavation reporting. Rhys is also an experienced UAV/drone pilot and currently holds an A2CofC qualification from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). He works in accordance with the company Operations Manual (OA).

Outside of fieldwork and academic research, Rhys is also keenly interested in public engagement and communicating archaeological heritage to a wider audience in both Welsh and English. Recently, Rhys has been involved in both TV and radio.

Jessica Woolley BA MA – Archaeologist & UAV Pilot

Jessica is an experienced archaeologist and has been working in commercial archaeology in the UK since 2020, and has undertaken numerous open area excavations, archaeological watching briefs and evaluations. Jessica developed a great interest in pre-Constantinian Christian Roman architecture after completing a Masters in Archaeology, following a Bachelors in Ancient History and Archaeology, at Cardiff University. Since then, she has further developed a keen interest in Romano-British religion and architecture, alongside forensic archaeology and the study of death and burial. Jessica also has a background working in the museum sector and community engagement, with previous roles as an historical tour guide as well as volunteering at numerous museums, such as St Fagans and the National Museum Cardiff.

Jessica undertakes a wide range of archaeological projects, these include archaeological Desk-based Assessments, Historic Impact Assessments and Environmental Impact Assessments, archaeological excavation, surveying and post-excavation reporting. Jessica is experienced in environmental archaeology, particularly sample flotation and finds processing and analysis.  Jessica is also a recently qualified UAV/drone pilot and works in accordance with the company Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approved Operations Manual (OA).

Charlie Harris BA MRes – Archaeologist

Charlie has been working in commercial archaeology since 2023, and has undertaken two major excavations. At Tintern Abbey, excavations are being carried out for the first time in over 100 years as part of Cadw’s flagship conservation programme. The excavations at Hafod-Morfa Copperworks, Swansea, form part of a multimillion pound project reclaiming and conserving the industrial landscape of the Lower Swansea Valley. Since working for Black Mountains Archaeology, Charlie has developed a strong interest in post-excavation work, and a developing interest in ceramics and environmental archaeology, alongside her love of medieval archaeology and history.

Charlie has an MRes in Medieval Studies, focusing on medieval medicine and its potential for developing treatments in the modern day, as well as a BA in Archaeology and History (Joint Hons). Charlie also has some background in academic excavations with two seasons at Lufton Villa (Roman, Newcastle University) and one in Talsarn, which has since developed into the Portalis Project (Prehistoric, UWTSD Lampeter).

Charlie undertakes a wide range of work, including excavation and post-excavation processing, recording, and archiving. Alongside this, Charlie has recently begun volunteering with the Ceredigion Museum in Aberystwyth, to support their archaeological collections auditing.