Responsible for:  The Department of Scottish History and Archaeology, its staff, projects and collections.

Research interests: Roman frontiers, the history of archaeology, world heritage, and the public benefit from archaeology.

Rebecca leads the Scottish archaeology and history teams in the museum, having joined in June 2024. She previously worked for the University of Edinburgh and Historic Environment Scotland (including both its predecessors, Historic Scotland and RCAHMS).

She has an undergraduate degree from Newcastle University and a PhD from Glasgow University on the Romans in Scotland. She led the development of Scotland's first Archaeology Strategy (2015) which looks to deepen the impact and public benefit of Scottish archaeology within its global context. She is a Board member of ICOMOS-UK and a Trustee of Bright Green Nature, a biodiversity charity based in the Scottish Borders. She is also a Visiting Professor at Heriot-Watt University.

Her research work has focused on three themes:

• Archaeological research on Roman frontiers in northern Britain 
• Historiography of Roman frontier scholarship in the 20th century
• World Heritage

Roman frontiers: Rebecca's interests lie in the conquest (camps and campaigns) and occupation of Scotland, areas of resistance, and the Antonine Wall, a microcosm of a Roman frontier at the zenith of their creation. She is the co-Chair of the International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies (Limes Congress). Her book on Roman Camps in Britain was awarded 'Book of the Year' at the Current Archaeology Awards in 2013. 

Historiography: Key interests are in female scholarship in the inter-war and post-war periods of the 20th century, and women in Scottish archaeology. Co-authored a volume (now in its second edition) on the History of the International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies. 

World Heritage: Particular work has focused on the management of the transboundary Frontiers of the Roman Empire (FRE) cluster; societal benefit from world heritage; and climate heritage. Rebecca is co-Chair of the Bratislava Group (Scientific Advisory Committee to the FRE UNESCO World Heritage 'cluster') and recently led a Royal Society of Edinburgh funded Research Network with academics in James Cook University in Queensland on the application of the Climate Vulnerability Index to Scotland's World Heritage, producing several reports and conference papers (also see https://cvi-heritage.org/).