Centre Members:

The centre includes over seventy members from a range of disciplines, including archaeology, architecture, art, classics, design, engineering, history, history of art, literature, music, and theology. We also have a number of external academic partners from universities across the world. If you’re interested in becoming a member of the centre, or joining our mailing list, please email CfHRR@ed.ac.uk.

Executive Group:

Dr James Cook – Centre Co-Director; Digital Hub Lead

James is a musicologist and historian with an interest in the digital humanities. He has run projects which use VR to reconstruct the visuals and acoustics of ruined historical buildings, producing visitor experiences as well as the first commercial classical CD recorded and produced in VR. He also engages in the reconstruction of missing parts in historical music and writes about imaginative constructions of history in TV, film, and video games, and the role of sound within them.

Dr Tanja Romankiewicz – Centre Co-Director; Theory Hub Lead

Tanja is an archaeologist interested in buildings and an architect interested in the people of the past. In this interdisciplinary space, Tanja researches design and designers, materials and makers, structures, builders and building processes. With a focus on prehistoric and Roman periods, Tanja wants to understand how and why people shaped their world. Working with communities, practitioners and policy makers, she translates these concepts from the deep past into a more sustainably built future.

Professor Jill Burke – Steering Group Lead; Embodiment and Experiment Hub Lead

Jill’s research focuses on the history of the body, cosmetics, and hygiene in Renaissance Italy, investigating texts, objects, images, and the reconstruction of recipes. In addition to writing books and articles, she collaborates with museums, cultural organisations, and authors or artists. She is director and founder of the Historical Reconstruction Lab.

Dr Aaron Allen – Education Hub Co-Lead

Aaron Allen is an Academic Skills Consultant and historian. He works with a local heritage initiative, the 1722 Waggonway Heritage Group, where reconstruction is used to study the coal and salt industries. As co-lead for the Education Hub, these strands are used to support colleagues using historical reconstruction in the classroom.

Dr Beatrijs de Groot – Education Hub Co-Lead

Beatrijs is a Lecturer in European Archaeology. Her research focuses on ceramic archaeometry, long-term technological change, globalisation, the archaeology of mass production, and European and Mediterranean Later Prehistory. She uses material science methods to understand production processes and reconstruct the composition of archaeological artifacts.

Dr Jess Bailey – Creative Worlds Hub Co-Lead

Dr Jess Bailey is a Lecturer in Pre-Modern Art History at the University of Edinburgh and a member of the Centre for Historical Reconstruction Research, where she contributes to interdisciplinary work on reconstructing past material cultures and experiences. Her research focuses on premodern art, with particular interests in disability, gender, and material practices such as quilting, alongside a commitment to accessible and practice-based approaches to art history.

Our Partner Organisations:

The Dunedin Consort:

Dunedin Consort is one of the world’s leading Baroque ensembles, recognised for its vivid and insightful performances and recordings. Formed in 1995 and named after Din Eidyn, the ancient Celtic name for Edinburgh Castle, Dunedin Consort’s ambition is to allow listeners to hear early music afresh, and to couple an inquisitive approach to historical performance with a commitment to commissioning and performing new music. Under the direction of John Butt, the ensemble has earned two coveted Gramophone Awards – for the 2007 recording of Handel’s Messiah and the 2014 recording of Mozart’s Requiem, a BBC Music Magazine Award, and a Grammy nomination. In 2021 it was the recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society Ensemble Award.

A Library of Olfactive Material:

Located in Glasgow, A Library of Olfactive Material is a pioneering, not-for-profit space dedicated to scent education, exploration, and creative experimentation. Conceived as an open-access “library” of fragrance materials, it invites visitors to engage directly with the raw components of perfumery—smelling, learning, and creating in an inclusive, hands-on environment. By demystifying a traditionally closed industry, the Library fosters a more accessible and democratic approach to olfactory art, supporting both beginners and experienced practitioners in developing their sensory awareness and creative practice.