Dr Caroline Sandes specialises in cultural heritage in (post-) conflict zones, specifically the Middle East. She is the director of Living Mesopotamia CIC, and has been working on cultural heritage projects in Iraq since 2019, both as project manager and as researcher and collaborator.
Originally from Ireland and an archaeologist, she studied and worked there before coming to London. She completed her PhD in the Institute of Archaeology, UCL, on the conservation of archaeological sites in post-war urban redevelopment, published in 2010 as Archaeology, Conservation and the City: post-conflict redevelopment in London, Berlin and Beirut.
Caroline has also been a guest lecturer at the Institute for Sustainable Heritage, UCL, since 2016 where she lectures on cultural heritage in conflict, and supervises MSc students. She also teaches at Kingston University on the Museum and Gallery Studies Masters course.
In addition she works as a cultural heritage expert for the European Commission.