Education
University of Edinburgh.
University of Edinburgh.
Between 1970 and 1973 he led the excavations at Carn Brea in Cornwall. and then went on to direct the excavations at Hambledon Hill and Grimes Graves, a Neolithic flint mine. An alumnus of the University of Edinburgh, graduating with Master of Arts Honours in Archaeology (1967), he became a lecturer there in 1974, was promoted to Reader in 1982 and was appointed Acting Head of Archaeology (1982-1987). From 1990–2004 he was Secretary of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS).
He retired in 2004 but retains ties with the University of Edinburgh"s School of History, Classics and Archaeology where he is an Honorary Professorial Fellow.
Professor Mercer was awarded an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in January 2004 for services to Archaeology. He has published widely on prehistoric Britain including:
Farming Practice in British Prehistory, Edinburgh University Press, 1981
Hambledon Hill: A Neolithic Landscape, Edinburgh University Press, 1980.