Mortimer Wheeler: Adventurer in Archaeology

by Jacquetta Hawkes

Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler (1890-1976) was a British archaeologist who supervised excavations in England, France (Brittany and Normandy) India, Pakistan, and Wales. He majored in classics at University College in London, and had participated in an archaeological excavation, and joined a government survey of historic buildings, when the First World War began and he joined the British army.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

387 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Jacquetta Hawkes OBE FBA (5 August 1910 – 18 March 1996) was an English archaeologist and writer. She was the first woman to study the Archaeology & Anthropology degree course at the University of Cambridge. A specialist in prehistoric archaeology, she excavated Neanderthal remains at the Palaeolithic site of Mount Carmel with Yusra and Dorothy Garrod. She was a representative for the UK at UNESCO, and was curator of the "People of Britain" pavilion at the Festival of Britain.

Her second husband was J.B. Priestley.

Reviews

[Dr Susan Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

My copy (a paperback bought at Shakespeare and Co. in Paris in the 2000s) has fallen to pieces somewhat as I finally read it from cover to cover. Jacquetta Hawkes knew Mortimer Wheeler and many of the other people in his life and this brings good authenticity to this portrait of a great archaeologist if not always a 'pure' human being. Definitely recommended to understand the whys and wherefors of the state of archaeology in the early to mid 20th century and the opening up of the Indian subcontinent. This mercurial man was swept also through two world wars and saw the aftermath of the breakup of the British Raj first hand. Combined with reading his own autobiograpy 'Still Digging' you also learn of how many women he brought into the profession, whether he loved them or not.