1944 in archaeology explained

Below are notable events in archaeology that occurred in 1944.

Excavations

• August - Excavations in the bombed area of Canterbury, England, are begun.^[1]
• "Caesar's Camp" (pre-Roman) site at location of London Heathrow Airport.

Publications

• Paul Jacobsthal's Early Celtic Art published in Oxford.

Finds

• First find of 12th century Kilwa Sultanate copper coins on Marchinbar Island off the north coast of Australia.

Events

• 31 May - Nemi ships destroyed by fire.^[2]
• The Council for British Archaeology is formed.^[3]
• Mortimer Wheeler is appointed Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India.^[4]

Births

• 1 March - Dai Morgan Evans, British archaeologist (d. 2017)^[5]
• 6 July - Timothy W. Potter, English archaeologist (d. 2000)^[6]
• 10 July - Norman Hammond, British Mayanist
• 15 July - Nigel Williams, British conservator (d. 1992)
• 25 July - David Breeze, British archaeologist notable for work on Hadrian's Wall, the Antonine Wall and the Roman Army
• 19 December - Richard Leakey, Kenyan palaeoanthropologist (d. 2022)
• Gabriel Barkay, Hungarian-born Israeli archaeologist

Notes and References

1. Canterbury Excavations, 1944–8. Sheppard Frere. Sheppard. Frere. Antiquity. 23. 91. 1949. 153–160. 10.1017/S0003598X00020214 . 161195637 .
2. Book: Grummond . Nancy Thomson de . Encyclopedia of the History of Classical Archaeology . 2015 . Routledge . 9781134268542 . 801 . en.
3. Book: Murray . Tim . Evans . Christopher . Histories of Archaeology: A Reader in the History of Archaeology . 2008 . OUP Oxford . 9780199550074 . 225 . en.
4. Web site: Sir Mortimer Wheeler British archaeologist . Encyclopedia Britannica . 1 January 2019 . en.
5. Web site: Dai Morgan Evans obituary. The Guardian. 10 November 2017. 17 April 2017.
6. Wallace-Hadrill. Andrew. Timothy William Potter (6 July 1944 – 11 January 2000). Papers of the British School at Rome. 9 August 2013. 68. ix–xix. 10.1017/S006824620000386X. free.