He received a Doctorate of Philosophy in archaeology from the University of York in 1990;[1] his thesis was titled 'Anglo-Scandinavian ironwork from 16-22 Coppergate, York : c.850-1100 A.D.' and was supervised by Tania Dickinson and Steve Roskams.
[2] Ottaway began his career in Winchester, Hampshire, where he was the assistant city archaeologist between 1976 and 1981.
[1] He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and a member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists.
[1] Ottaway has appeared in the British archaeology programme Time Team and the BBC's Timewatch episode titled "The Mystery of the Headless Roman".
[1] In 2023, he appeared in the PBS series Secrets of the Dead, in the episode "Headless Romans".