Keith Westcott FIoL
Keith first started work on the Institute Initiative in January 2017 whilst attending a 12-week evening course ‘Archaeology in Practice’, at the University of Oxford.
Some months before, he had been working on a hypothesis, that a high-status Roman villa was in the vicinity of a lead-lined stone sarcophagus burial. Convinced that the burial was not positioned in context with a nearby Roman road and settlement, he went out searching ‘eyes only’ utilising basic landscape archaeology principles. In proving the hypothesis, he discovered a huge villa of national importance described as being in the top 1% of Britain’s Roman villas, which had laid hidden for centuries.
An experienced metal detectorist of over 30 years, who recorded finds with museums before the start of the Portable Antiquities Scheme, he was surprised in the lack of information available for detectorists, who have discovered archaeological sites… or for that matter, any archaeologically based education and guidance for metal detectorists, at all!
Keith first experience dealing with heritage sector authorities, archaeologists, the police, and TV cameras, was in the 1990’s resulting from his discovery of a Hoard which would spend 10 years on display at the Ashmolean.
Not realising at the time when stood in Crown Court, Oxford in front of a Coroner and Jury, his Treasure Trove case would be the very last in Common Law, 1000 years of legal history starting with Edward the Confessor, ends with Keith and the ‘Queens Coins’ hoard.
Keith wrote, directed and as lecturer for the course at the University of Oxford, won the prestigious Archaeology Training Forum Awards 2019. He appears on live TV and Radio interviews, regularly gives talks and lectures both here in the UK and abroad, and joined Time Team as their first detectorist team member, in 2021.
Away from his love of history which developed initially through the enthusiastic teachings of his history teacher and later as a diver of shipwrecks around the British Isles, Keith was an expert in the heating and energy sector.
Starting as 15-year-old apprentice plumber, he retired as a Standardisation Committee Chair of British Standards and representing the UK as a Principal Expert in EU Member State meetings, to focus on creating the DIF. He held several National Institute roles in sector and was a Government Advisor on Microgeneration.
Awarded the Freedom of the City of London in 2012, he is a Liverymen of the City, a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership, and a Fellow of the CIPHE. Keith has dedicated a significate portion of his time to volunteering over the last 20 years and previously, was a Director and Trustee for a Residential Care Charity for Adults with learning difficulties.
Securing not-for-profit and charitable status was a fundamental principle behind his work in founding the Institute and Foundation.
Away from the heritage sector, Keith is a keen guitarist, holds a motorboat Day Skipper Licence and was a MotoX Clubman Champion.
