Alexander Langlands

Dr. Alexander Langlands serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of History within the School of Culture and Communication at Swansea University's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. With over fifteen years of professional experience across public and commercial sectors, he has established himself as a prominent archaeologist, historian, and heritage specialist with exceptional public engagement credentials and an award-winning broadcast media career spanning from 2003-2020.

Langlands' research expertise spans heritage and public value, historic environment services, medieval archaeology, landscape archaeology and history, and Geographic Information Systems. His AHRC-funded work focuses on transforming heritage services to enhance public benefit, while his UKRI-funded research examines community roles in place-making through heritage activities. His long-term archaeological reappraisal of Old Sarum, funded by the Society of Antiquaries, represents one of England's most significant heritage projects.

His recent scholarly output reveals a consistent thematic focus on place-making, community heritage, and the intersection of traditional crafts with historic environment conservation. The publications demonstrate methodological diversity, combining archaeological fieldwork, historical analysis, policy development, and community engagement approaches, with particular attention to medieval landscapes and their contemporary relevance.

Langlands has achieved significant public recognition through his co-authorship of the Sunday Times Bestseller 'Victorian Farm' and his critically acclaimed book 'Cræft' published by Faber & Faber. His media career included delivering award-winning prime-time factual programming that brought historical and archaeological subjects to wide audiences.

As an educator, Langlands supervises PhD students and teaches across all undergraduate levels, with notable modules including 'Britain in the Early Middle Ages: Slavery, Dragons, Queens and Vikings' and 'The Placing of History: Digitally Mapping the Historic Past,' where he instructs students in industry-standard Geographic Information Systems. He is co-director and co-founder of the Centre for Heritage Research and Training, reflecting his commitment to practical heritage applications and professional development.