About us
Dr. Neil Phillips
Company Director
Staff Biography
Dr Phillips has been active in archaeology since 1997, completing his 1st degree in 1999 and a research PhD in 2004. His PhD focused on earthwork castles (motte & bailey) of the southern March of Wales which involved a considerable amount of survey work, eventually leading to a viable alternative for the dating and interpretation of earthwork castles of the Norman period.
His favoured period is the Palaeolithic, an interest that he has pursued not only in Wales but also in Spain, Gibraltar, and Morocco; working for The National History Museum, The National Museum of Wales and Oxford Brookes University.
Over the intervening years, involvement in commercial archaeology has familiarised Dr Phillips with a range of archaeological periods from Mesolithic to WW2: however, the bias in S Wales at least, tends towards either Roman or Industrial.
Apart from ongoing commercial work, Dr Phillips is at present directing the 2nd decade of a research excavation on a previously unknown phase of Post-medieval charcoal ironworking within the Wye Valley.
With an increase in building recording work, Dr Phillips improved his skills in survey and recording work by adding 3D scanning equipment to APAC Ltd's array of specialist abilities. We now have: 'in-house', survey-grade, Faro M70 & Freestyle laser scanners, a Topcon Total Station, Geomax Robotic total station and GPS This allows for 3-dimensional recording to less than 5mm accuracy to be undertaken, and fixed to precise 3D co-ordinates; also, dramatically reducing on-site recording time and the need for additional visits. In reporting work, the virtual reality records of the site or building allow for greater accuracy and provide interactive spatial facilities, allowing better interpretation.
In 2018, Dr Phillips was expelled from the CIFA, where he had been a full member since 2016, for 'bringing the name of archaeology into disrepute'. The ruling was based on third-party testimony presented to the disciplinary panel by an autonomous local authority. The local authority had looked at their conduct in the matter and found themselves not to blame.
Membership of the Cifa is bestowed on an individual based on experience and is subject to an annual membership subscription. Dr Phillips, having lost the right to display the MCIFA letters after his name, will from now on, only rely on 27 years of archaeological experience, and the discipline-specific, fully funded, research bursary, Doctorate, which he achieved in 2004.
At this current time APAC.Ltd chooses not to accept any work within the control of the Brecon Beacons National Parks Authority. It should be pointed out that the exclusion of an archaeological company from projects by reason of no association with the CIFA is illegal, and we would be interested in receiving any documentation where this has been the case.
In April 2024, APAC Ltd passed the 20-year milestone, a trading position achieved mostly through word-of-mouth contact apart from a small sign on the works van.