You may have heard some rumours of exciting updates and plans for the future of EXARC. We are now very excited to reveal all – we are getting a new Director!

Roeland Paardekooper, who is one of the original founders of EXARC, will be stepping down from his role as director in the new year, and will be followed by Matilda Siebrecht, who you may recognise as one of the hosts of our podcast.

Matilda is a professional archaeologist and journalist, and been an EXARC member for many years, as her research focuses on microwear analysis and experimental archaeology. As well as filling a vital role in our volunteer podcast team, she has also helped to organise several of our events, particularly our online conferences where she worked behind the scenes as manager of the moderation team for the discussion and Q&A sessions. She is a strong advocate of accessible communication of archaeological information, both within and outside the field, and was drawn to EXARC because of its approachability and inclusivity of archaeologists, students, and practitioners from all walks of life.

It is this and other of EXARC’s core values that Matilda hopes to build on in the future – taking the best parts of what makes EXARC a community that we all want to be a part of, and developing them further. This will involve practical steps like updating the website to make it easier to navigate, and social steps like revitalising our online Discord server, amongst other things.

For the first year, Roeland will be helping Matilda settle into her new position, ensuring that the transition goes smoothly before he moves on to his next projects. We will of course be sharing any changes and updates as we go, and please do feel free to reach out with any suggestions of what we can do in developing our community further.