Chris Cox is a professional heritage consultant, specialist interpreter of aerial imagery and Lidar data, and an Expert Witness. She is the Director of Air Photo Services Ltd.
My love of archaeology led me to aerial imagery interpretation.
I did a degree in Archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean, part of which involved studying aerial photographs alongside detailed studies of archaeology and landscape history. I developed an interest in that, so I decided to do an MA in Aerial Archaeology at Sheffield University.
It was a very specialist course with lots of technical developments for the time (this was the 1980s). I learned about IT, mapping, geo referencing, and flying and photography. I enjoyed it very much and simply wanted to continue my career in that area.
I became an Expert Witness almost by accident!
For 20 years, I worked in commercial archaeology as an aerial archaeologist. I started my own business to provide specialist air photo services in planning and archaeology.
I got into Expert Witness work via a colleague, an experienced Expert Witness specialising in minerals and planning archaeology. He asked for my input into a case and introduced me to a solicitor, who subsequently needed some mapping from aerial photographs.
My first case as an Expert was a minerals extractions case in 1998. Since then, I’ve built my own Expert Witness practice, alongside my planning and archaeology work.
I like the variety of work I can become involved with.
I have a very wide professional remit. I could be working on a case to do with rights of way, adverse possession, planning, land use, access or town and village greens — anything that leaves a trace on the land.
The cases are sometimes historical, which require historic landscape, archaeology, or historic map input as well. I have looked at some criminal cases, but they are few and far between.
Through Expert Witness work, I’ve gained experience and confidence.
What I like about Expert Witness work is the requirement for complete objectivity and only acting within the parameters my own experience. I also like being able to inform a public inquiry or a court case and provide clarification on evidence.
I find joy in investigation and knowing that I can find things out, but they must be backed by provable tested and often scientific fact. I do enjoy the detail of it all and making sure that I've documented everything.
I enjoy working within my own boundaries, as well as with teams of people like surveyors or landscape specialists and legal professionals.
Cross examination skills are very important.
It's very important to take your time, answer clearly and briefly, and give objective answers. If you can’t answer a question, don’t see it as a personal attack in any way.
Be thoughtful and careful in what you say and give only answers which can be justified from your own research or experience in that particular area.
Testing the evidence prior to presentation and cross examination is important, as it allows you to collect your thoughts and only stick to what is absolutely relevant.
A lot of the skill in being an Expert Witness is listening to and respectfully and carefully considering the evidence that other Experts have put forward.
In the majority of my cases, I’m acting as the Expert for one side. That’s when an Experts Meeting is necessary: a private meeting between Experts, not led by the solicitors or the legal team.
Conducting an Experts Meeting in the true spirit of meeting together is a skill I’ve really tried to hone and have taken training in this area. We look at each other's evidence, question it, discuss it, and identify areas of agreement, disagreement and discussion.
The mark of an experienced Expert Witness is that you don't react adversely to anything that anybody says.
I remember working on a waste management case, where the other side were very controversial and bordering on unpleasant in Inquiry. That experience helped remind me that as an Expert, you're not there to be denigrated. You are there to help the inquiry or the court.
Fortunately, that's been a very small part of my experience as an Expert. Mainly, it’s been extremely respectful, professional and rewarding.
I was really surprised to learn that women are only appointed or testify as Expert Witnesses in 9% of cases worldwide.
Presenting yourself as an expert in something can sometimes be challenging, and I don't know if women, including those of us who identify as women, find that different or difficult. It may be a sense of imposter syndrome — a perception that they don't have the technical expertise, when they really do!
My advice to women considering Expert work is to have more faith in the actual breadth and significance of your specialist professional expertise.
Encouraging more women to enter the field is something that we need to explore, perhaps by offering mentoring and help with how to present evidence.
I never know what is going to come into my inbox.
A typical day or week could either be very varied or intensely focussed on doing one thing, like writing a report, searching online archives for aerial photographs, satellite imagery, or working in-person in specialist archives with maps and photographs.
I took part in some filming last year about a project in Alderney around the Second World War. I am very interested in conflict archaeology of the 20th century, so that was a pleasure to be involved with.
The value of an Expert Witness in society is very high.
Whatever your field of expertise, all Experts must be driven by objectivity, factuality, scientific reality and truth. Remember to never step out beyond your parameters of knowledge. I’m very happy to say, “I don't know that. Let's find out”.
I find Expert Witness work deeply intellectually interesting.
I feel very honoured to be invited back to Sheffield University, where I did my MA, to present a short talk about our tutor. He was a Second World War pilot and he was a great communicator and deeply knowledgeable and respected aerial archaeologist.
He always wanted his students to do something useful in the area of archaeology and to promote the profession and teach and mentor others. And I feel I do that on a daily basis.