Sir Mortimer WheelerBorn 10 Sep 1890; died 22 Jul 1976 at age 85. Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler was a Scottish archaeologist was widely known for popularizing his subject with the public, especially by regular appearances on television.. His notable excavations in Britain were at Verulamium (St Albans) and Maiden Castle. While director-general of archaeology in India (1944-7), he was most active at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. His particular excavation method was the 'Wheeler' box trench system. Returning to London, he became professor of the archaeology of the Roman provinces at the newly founded Institute of Archaeology (1948-55) and was knighted in 1952. His books include Archaeology from the Earth (1954) and the autobiographical Still Digging (1955). |
