AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL specialist from Dorchester is to take up a prestigious position as a world-leading expert on medieval tiles.

Formerly the county archaeological officer for Dorset County Council, Laurence Keen has now been appointed director of the Census of Medieval Tiles in Britain.

And he says that his first task is to overhaul the review of medieval tiles in his native Dorset.

Mr Keen said: "There is a great amount of work to do and I am looking forward to the challenge.

"My own contributions will probably be to publish work on Devon and Cornwall, Gloucester Cathedral, and a revision of the volume on Dorset, which was the first census volume by Dr Emden, published in 1977."

A senior archaeologist with a special interest in the medieval period, Mr Keen's fascination with floor-tiles started in 1969 when he won a national essay prize on the tiles of Devon.

He then received a Winston Churchill Fellowship in 1970, which enabled him to study tiles in France.

This work was acknowledged in 1990 when he became a member of the National Society of Antiquaries of France.

He is now recognised as an international expert on the subject, having published a large number of articles found in many sites in Britain.

Mr Keen succeeds Christopher Norton, of the Centre for Medieval Studies at York University.

The census is being funded by cash from the British Academy and the Society of Antiquaries of London.