 Not wishing to enter the legal profession, he focused on archaeology, working as an amateur in the field and authoring academic papers, some of which saw publication in national journals.Without a single qualification in archaeology, aged 25 he was appointed an assistant lecturer at Reading University.He was a lecturer in archaeology from 1971 to 1984, Reader in Archaeology from 1984 to 1987, and Professor of Archaeology from 1987 to 2013.