Helena Francisca Hamerow, FSA, FBA (born 18 September 1961) is an American archaeologist, best known for her work on the archeology of early medieval communities in Northwestern Europe.
[5] Hamerow's research centres on the archaeology of rural communities during the Anglo-Saxon era, specifically the impact on farmers and the early medieval settlements by the founding of monasteries, kingdoms and towns.
[7] Hamerow is currently leading a four year project funded by the European Research Council (ERC): Feeding Anglo-Saxon England: The Bioarchaeology of an Agricultural Revolution.
The site is notable for the large quantity of important archeological remains dating from the prehistoric period to the medieval era.
[14] In 2011, Hamerow was one of forty leading archaeologists who published an open letter to the Justice Secretary, Kenneth Clarke in the Guardian, asking for more time to study ancient human remains found in archaeological excavations.
Later that year, in response to the letter, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) began issuing licences to museums, allowing them to keep human remains for analysis.
They also renewed negotiations with representatives of English Heritage and the Institute for Archaeologists to develop a new policy for the retention and burial of human remains.