Mary-Jean Sutton
Current position
Founder of Virtus Heritage
Where did you study?
University of Sydney and University of Queensland
How did you become interested in archaeology?
I got interested in archaeology as a child reading National Geographic and going to archives and researching old records with my parents who were involved in editing the 14th Light Horse Regiment's military history and recording stories about Gallipoli with WWI veterans.
What archaeological projects are you working on at the moment?
I help out on a lot of projects troubleshooting as the Director, supporting team members. I worked on Yaegl Country this week with a sites officer recording an isolated chopping tool for a proposed road realignment with one of our other team members, Lilith. I am working in projects in Northern NSW for education, renewables projects in regional NSW, Qld and SA and several projects based in Sydney this month.
Tell us about one of your most interesting archaeological discoveries
I recorded kilometres of stone tools in erosion scours in the desert mixed in with glass artefacts following the Overland Telegraph Route, as a volunteer in University, in Central Australia.
Tell us about a funny / disastrous / amazing experience that you have had while doing archaeology
I worked in London with Oxford Archaeological Trust on the original Harry Potter film set at Watford studios digging Neolithic sites while they were filming and one day they took out the dog, Fluffy, and also Hedwig the owl flew over our trench.
What’s your favourite part of being an archaeologist?
Listening and learning from community, clients, partners and my team. I never stop learning.
Follow up reading