Derek Parrott is an archaeologist specializing in Viking Age material culture, having received his MA in medieval archaeology from the University of York in 2018. He has also worked various roles in museums and commercial archaeology in his home country of the United States since 2016. His primary interests include the intersection of material culture with social life and identity, the ways in which material culture traveled through networks, and the use of innovative technologies in artefact studies.

Derek Parrot's project at UrbNet will investigate the relationship between craftsman and the early coastal emporia towns of Viking Age Scandinavia through the lens of ceramic nonferrous metalworking molds from the town of Ribe. Analysis will be conducted with the novel method of digitally modeling these objects via 3D laser scanning, which has demonstrated an ability to discern patterns in the heavily fragmented material. A large sample will be used for this project to explore the scale and chronology of nonferrous metalworking at the site, as well as the individual identities of craftsman and workshops With a better understanding of wider patterns in nonferrous metalworking at a major emporium like Ribe, the relationship between craftsman and town can more firmly established and a more refined view of how Viking Age urban centers developed can be achieved.