Staff Profiles

My research and teaching address the issue of long-term water security, directly engaging with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6 (water) and 15 (includes desertification). I am a specialist in using Earth observation and machine learning for recording endangered hydraulic heritage and desertification of traditional oases, primarily in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

My recent roles include:

Lecturer at Newcastle University since 2025

Newcastle University Academic Track (NUAcT) Research Fellow in Water Security 2020-2025.

Research Associate at the University of Leicester 2015-2020 on the Endangered Archaeology of the Middle East and North Africa project (EAMENA). 

PhD University of Durham 2015 (Archaeology and Geography)

I am the Open Research Champion for my School.

Selected outputs of my recent research

Open-Access article in Nature Scientific Reports on 'Detecting Desertification'

COP27 policy briefing on Food security

A podcast discussing my water management research.

Highlighted recent projects

Resilience in a fragile environment: Oases in the northern Sahara since 500 BC

Funded by a NUACT fellowship. I’m researching the development of water management in oases in the Sahara and investigating how this could inform future sustainability. Oases are environments created as a result of long-term, human-environment interactions but are vulnerable to human adaptability to changes. Although traditional methods of irrigation have been seen as sustainable, archaeological evidence for this is needed. I am following an interdisciplinary methodology using satellite imagery, archived data and fieldwork to map the traces of past water management features and identify and model the risk of desertification.

Vanishing archaeological landscapes under anthropogenic and climate change threats

A collaboration with CNR-ISAC (Italy) funded by the Royal Society/CNR to develop innovative ways of mapping heritage in southern Iraq under threat from climate change and other causes.

Dating the remains of an agricultural system in southern Iraq

A collaboration with Radboud University (Netherlands), Basra and Al-Qadisiyah Universities (Iraq) funded by Gerda Henkel Stiftung to investigate water management systems in the hinterland of Basra.

Monitoring heritage destruction

I developed bespoke algorithms using open source data to automate the monitoring of archaeological sites. This has been tested so far in Egypt, Libya and Iraq.

See my blog post: Dynamic World for monitoring heritage destruction using Google Earth Engine | NUSH (ncl.ac.uk)

As a specialist in geospatial data and landscape archaeology I teach classes to undergraduate and postgraduate students in techniques of digital mapping and remote sensing. I also taught these subjects as part of a series of training workshops (2017-2019) for heritage professionals based in the Middle East and North Africa. I’m committed to supporting increased uptake of remote sensing technologies for archaeologists, with a focus on using open-source data and software.  

Current PhD students

Jen Lavris Makovics (School of History, Classics and Archaeology)

Hope Irvine (School of Engineering)

Brittni Bradford (School of Arts and Cultures)

Jodie Vaughn (School of History, Classics and Archaeology)

• Articles

  • Brown P, Jotheri J, Abdalwahab N, Andrieux E, Rayne L. The landscape of the Zanj Rebellion? Dating the remains of a large-scale agricultural system in southern Iraq. Antiquity 2025, Epub ahead of print.
  • Rayne L, de Gruchy M, Jotheri J, Abdan R. Landscape archaeology of the Eridu region: discovering the irrigation systems of ancient farms. Iraq 2025. In Press.
  • Jotheri J, Rokan M, Al-Ghanim A, Rayne L, de Gruchy M, Alabdan R. Identifying the preserved network of irrigation canals in Eridu region, Southern Mesopotamia. Antiquity Project Gallery 2025, Epub ahead of print.
  • Cigna F, Rayne L, Makovics JL, Irvine HK, Jotheri J, Algabri A, Tapete D. Environmental Challenges and Vanishing Archaeological Landscapes: Remotely Sensed Insights into the Climate-Water-Agriculture-Heritage Nexus in Southern Iraq. Land 2025, 14(5), 1013.
  • Rayne L, Brandolini F, Makovics JL, Hayes-Rich E, Levy J, Irvine H, Assi L, Bokbot Y. Detecting desertification in the ancient oases of southern Morocco. Scientific Reports 2023, 13, 19424.
  • Fenwick C, Sterry M, Mattingly D, Rayne L, Bokbot Y. A Medieval Boom in the North-west Sahara: Evolving Oasis Landscapes in the Wadi Draa, Morocco (c.700–1500 AD). Journal of Islamic Archaeology 2022, 8(2), 139-165.
  • Rayne L, Gatto MC, Abdulaati L, Al-Haddad M, Sterry M, Sheldrick N, Mattingly D. Detecting Change at Archaeological Sites in North Africa Using Open-Source Satellite Imagery. Remote Sensing 2020, 12(22), 3694.
  • Nikolaus J, Mugnai N, Rayne L, Zerbini A, Mattingly D, Walker S, Abdrbba M, Alhaddad M, Buzaian A, Emrage A. Training, Partnerships, and New Methodologies for Protecting Libya’s Cultural Heritage. Quaderni di Archeologia della Libya 2018, 21.
  • Rayne L, Donoghue D. A Remote Sensing Approach for Mapping the Development of Ancient Water Management in the Near East. Remote Sensing 2018, 10(12), 1-21.
  • Mattingly DJ, Bokbot Y, Sterry M, Cuénod A, Fenwick C, Gatto MC, Ray N, Rayne L, Janin K, Lamb A, Mugnai N. Long-term History in a Moroccan Oasis Zone: The Middle Draa Project 2015. Journal of African Archaeology 2017, 15(2), 141-172.
  • Rayne L, Bradbury J, Mattingly D, Philip G, Bewley R, Wilson A. From Above and on the Ground: Geospatial Methods for Recording Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa. Geosciences 2017, 7(4), 1-31.
  • Rayne L, Sheldrick N, Nikolaus J. Endangered archaeology in Libya: recording damage and destruction. Libyan Studies 2017, 48, 23-49.
  • Rayne L. Imperial irrigated landscapes in the Balikh Valley. Water History 2015, 7, 419-440.
  • Wilkinson TJ, Rayne L, Jotheri J. Hydraulic landscapes in Mesopotamia: the role of human niche construction. Water History 2015, 7, 397-418.
  • Wilkinson TJ, Rayne L. Hydraulic landscapes and imperial power in the Near East. Water History 2010, 2, 115-144.

• Book Chapters

  • Rayne L. Early Islamic Water Management in Northern Mesopotamia. In: Kennedy, H; Bessard, F, ed. Land and Trade in Early Islam: The Economy of the Islamic Middle East 750–1050 CE. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2025, pp.140-183.
  • Rayne L, Rouhani B, Lavris Makovics J. Remote sensing and Disaster Risk Management for Cultural Heritage. In: Rouhani, B; Romão, X, ed. Managing Disaster Risks to Cultural Heritage: From Risk Preparedness to Recovery for Immovable Heritage. Routledge, 2023, pp.114-132.
  • Mattingly DJ, Sterry M, Rayne L. Pre-Islamic oasis settlements in the Eastern Sahara. In: Mattingly, DJ; Sterry, M, ed. Urbanisation and State Formation in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond. Cambridge University Press, 2020, pp.112-146.
  • Rayne L. Islamic water management in the hinterland of Raqqa. In: Lawrence, D; Altaweel, M; Philip, G, ed. New Agendas in Remote Sensing and Landscape Archaeology in the Near East: Studies in honour of Tony J Wilkinson. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2020, pp.306-320.
  • Wilkinson TJ, Rayne L. Hydraulic systems in the Near East. In: Selin, H, ed. Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Dordrecht: Springer, 2014.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

  • Rayne L, Brandolini F, Makovics J, Hayes-Rich E, Levy J, Irvine H, Assi L, Bokbot Y. Detecting Desertification in Southern Morocco Using a Multi-Sensor, Random Forest Approach. In: IEEE Mediterranean and Middle-East Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (M2GARSS 2024). 2024, Oran, Algeria: IEEE.
  • Cigna F, Tapete D, Rayne L, Makovics J, Irvine H, de Gruchy M, Jotheri J. Assessing Anthropogenic and Climate Change Threats to Archaeological Landscapes in Iraq Using Earth Observation. In: IEEE Mediterranean and Middle-East Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (M2GARSS 2024). 2024, Oran, Algeria: IEEE.
  • Rayne L. Detecting Desertification at Ancient Oases in North Africa Using Remote Sensing. In: 2022 IEEE Mediterranean and Middle-East Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (M2GARSS). 2022, Istanbul, Turkey: IEEE.
  • Bewley R, Wilson A, Kennedy D, Mattingly D, Banks R, Bishop M, Bradbury J, Cunliffe E, Fradley M, Jennings R, Mason R, Rayne L, Sterry M, Sheldrick N, Zerbini A. Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa: Introducing the EAMENA Project. In: CAA2015. Keep the Revolution Going: Proceedings of the 43rd Annual Conference on Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology. 2016, Siena, Italy: Archaeopress Archaeology.

• Online Publication

  • Abou-Hayid A, Choudhary K, El Beltagy A, Magdy Gabr A, Kuppuswamy C, Pope E, Rayne L, Reay D, Sakr M, Sanders D, Shoukry M, Tzachor A, Whitfield S, Zaghloul S. Achieving Food Security under Climate Change. https://uucn.ac.uk/uucn_briefings/achieving-food-security-under-climate-change/: UK Universities Climate Network, 2022. Available at: https://uucn.ac.uk/uucn_briefings/achieving-food-security-under-climate-change/.

• Software

  • Rayne L, Cigna F. Change detection code for "Environmental challenges and vanishing landscapes: remotely sensed insights into the climate-water-agriculture-heritage nexus in southern Iraq". [program]. Newcastle upon Tyne: Newcastle University, 2024.
  • Rayne L. Desertification Detection. [program]. Newcastle upon Tyne: Newcastle University, 2023.