Meet The Team

Meet the Team

Birgit Thaller

Managing Director

With a background spanning economics, engineering and IT, becoming Managing Director of BAR Publishing in 2014 has been the most rewarding chapter of my career. I’m proud of our dedicated team and the contribution BAR has made to archaeology over the past 50 years.

Editorial

Tourist in sun hat inside the Colosseum in Rome

Jacqueline Senior

Editorial Director

I’ve worked in higher education and academic publishing in a range of subject disciplines for nearly 30 years. I’ve been at BAR since 2017, where I’ve particularly enjoyed setting up specialist sub-series, bringing together inspiring and diverse editorial boards. I love talking to archaeologists about their research and learning something extraordinary almost every day. My camera roll  disproportionately features my cats and my garden.

White woman with brown wavy hair smiles at camera. She is standing in front of a museum exhibit of carved Roman stones, and wears a floral dress.

Dr Tansy Branscombe

Managing Editor

I completed a DPhil in Archaeological Science at the University of Oxford in 2022, and have worked in the editorial team at BAR ever since. My research focused on archaeological marine carbonates as palaeotemperature records, but I also have experience as a field archaeologist on various research digs in Orkney, Romania, Croatia, and Japan. Outside of work I spend most of my time doting on my favourite bark-aeologist, rescue greyhound Gwyn.

Man wearing white shirt and sunglasses, sitting on top of ancient Greek wall and smiling at camera.

Dr Dan Etches Jones

Editor

Before coming to BAR in 2024, I taught ancient history, Latin, and Greek at Oxford University, where I completed a DPhil on Greek mobility in the ancient Adriatic. I have also taken part in  archaeological fieldwork in Albania and spent time exploring sites in Croatia and Greece. In my spare time, I enjoy cooking and hanging out with my cat, Disco.

Dr Caryn Berg

I’m an archaeologist by training, with a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Before transitioning into publishing, I spent several years working as a consulting archaeologist, primarily in the American Southwest, Great Basin, Plains, and Midwest. Since 2007, I’ve been immersed in the world of archaeological publishing—a field that has deepened my appreciation for the discipline by allowing me to engage with colleagues across a wide range of specialties. I once told my undergraduate advisor I wanted to go to graduate school because I “just love archaeology,” and that passion continues to thrive in my current work. Outside of the office, I enjoy spending time with my family and our three dogs—two permanent members of the household and one foster pup.

Production

Clare Chapman

I’ve worked on the publication of archaeological books for the past 12 years in a variety of roles. Before joining the publication world, I worked as an archaeologist in field excavation and in finds processing on both Research and Commercial Projects, including in the UK, Greece, and Italy. I have an MA Honours in Ancient History and Classical Archaeology from the University of Edinburgh. Outside of work, my life is devoted to family, music (I play a musical instrument in a brass band), and my rescue cat and underworld queen, Persephone.

Sales and Marketing

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James Young

Global Sales Manager

I joined BAR in 2025 as the sales lead for the BAR Digital Collection and have worked in academic publishing since 2017. Alongside my role at BAR, I am studying a part-time MA at SOAS, focusing on the historical dissemination and reception of Chinese and Japanese ceramics in Europe. I am also a keen collector of Japanese and British studio pottery and spend a lot of my time outside of work travelling to ceramics exhibitions near and far.

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Lucie Simpson

Customer Services and Sales Executive

I joined BAR in 2024 with a strong customer service background and find I am learning something new about archaeology each day. I enjoy speaking to customers and building up relationships with them and our regular trade contacts. I spend my spare time outside with my two children, our fox red labrador is never far behind!