After a degree in archaeology at Edinburgh, Ellen migrated south to Oxford. She spent 10 years in the Near East, working on excavations in Jordan, Syria and Iraq. As Research Fellow of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq her post-doctoral research into prehistoric figurines took her to museums in Iraq, the UK, the USA, France and East Germany. When Saddam Hussein’s foreign policy necessitated a return to the UK, she spent five years as Post-excavation Manager at the Oxford Archaeological Unit, followed by jobs in museums in London, Glasgow and latterly Birmingham. She retired as Director of Birmingham Museums in 2020.
