Ashley Lingle
Teacher in Conservation
School of History, Archaeology and Religion
- lingleam@cardiff.ac.uk
- John Percival Building, Colum Drive, Cardiff, CF10 3EU
Overview
Ashley Lingle is a conservator with interests in archaeological materials, natural history collections, digital preservation, preventative conservation, sustainable conservation practice, and community outreach.
She lectures at Cardiff on the BSc and MSc programs in conservation. She was Head of Conservation for the Çatalhöyük Research Project from 2012 to 2020. Her PhD from Cardiff University focused on the use of aqueous polymers on archaeological earthen substrates. She holds a MA and MSc from University College London in conservation. She has a BA in anthropology from Tulane University in the United States.
Biography
Teaching
With the current global focus on sustainability and renewability, I would argue there has never been a greater need for conservation education. Conservation education lends itself to the application of student-centered pedagogy focusing on individual skills and practices that enable lifelong learning and independent problem-solving. The theoretical base of conservation and the basic tenets of the field are relevant far beyond the heritage sector. Conservation outreach and diachronic approaches to conservation within heritage are critical elements in discussions of identity, value, materiality, and sustainability. While one of the key things that attracted me to conservation was the ability to use scientific understanding across a broad range of heritage materials, I have a keen interest in teaching the preservation of organic and archaeological materials. I also genuinely enjoy teaching practical conservation projects, which I have done both in the field and at Cardiff University.
Through my experiences as a conservation professional, I have been fortunate to themes of exploring reflexive practice and digital innovations. As head of conservation at Çatalhöyük, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, I developed enthusiasm for reflexive conservation practice and applications of digital preservation. My work with earthen architecture has afforded me the opportunity to explore both of these research interests. Thinking about how conservators critically evaluate interventions and adapt treatments to evolving contexts is central to sound conservation practice. Analytical tools are key to gauging treatment perceptions to actualized outcomes; one extension of this tools set is growing field of digital preservation. In my work I have found that blending these two interests has given me insight into the gap between laboratory ideals and implementation of materials in conservation practice.