Val Steele
Scientist
Organic analysis/chemistry Department: Conservation and Scientific Research
Val’s area of expertise is in the analysis and identification of amorphous organic materials including for example food residues, cosmetics, varnishes and adhesives. She uses chemical analysis to explore the sources of organic materials, how they were produced and how they were used in the past. She is also interested in how natural materials are altered chemically during use and over time.
Val’s background was originally in physics. Later study of archaeological sciences led to an interest in the analysis of organic residues in pottery. She has studied residues in Bronze Age pottery from the eastern Mediterranean, food residues in pottery from the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition in north-western Europe and carried out contract research before joining the British Museum in 2011.
Contact
vsteele@britishmuseum.org
+44 (0)20 7323 8884
Current projects
Recent publications
Oliver E. Craig, Val J. Steele, Anders Fischer, Sönke Hartz, Søren H. Andersen, Paul Donohoe, Aikaterina Glykou, Hayley Saul, D. Martin Jones, Evan Koch and Carl P. Heron. In press. Ancient lipids reveal continuity in culinary practices across the transition to agriculture in Northern Europe.
Valerie J. Steele, Ben Stern & Andrew W. Stott 2010. Olive oil or lard? Distinguishing plant oils from animal fats in the archaeological record of the eastern Mediterranean using gas chromatography/combustion /isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 24(23):3478-3484
Steele, V. J., B. Stern & C. Knappett 2007. Organic residue analysis of Red Lustrous Wheelmade Ware from five sites in the Eastern Mediterranean. In I. Hein (ed) The Lustrous Wares of Late Bronze Age Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean – Papers of a conference held in Vienna, 5-6 November 2004: 191-196. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (OAW)
Knappett, C., V. Kilikoglou, V. Steele & B. Stern 2005 The circulation and consumption of Red Lustrous Wheelmade ware: petrographic, chemical and residue analysis. Journal of Anatolian Studies, 55: 25-59