Ian has joined the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) in 2019 as Finds Liaison Officer for Lancashire and Cumbria. He read his BA and MA in Medieval Studies (University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Lampeter), and has recently completed his PhD in History (Manchester Metropolitan University). His PhD thesis, The Crozier and the Cross: Crusading and the English Episcopate c.1170-1313 is currently being edited in order to be proposed as a book. Ian also has a sideline of research into the posthumous miraculous cult of St Thomas de Cantilupe, bishop of Hereford (1275-82, canonized 1320), on which he has published several articles. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and was elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in March 2021.

Ian's main area of interest is the Middle Ages, but he also has a passion for the archaeology and history of all periods.

Follow Ian on Twitter @IanLBass.