WHEELER, SIR (ROBERT ERIC) MORTIMER

born , Sept. 10, 1890, Glasgow died July 22, 1976, Leatherhead, near London British archaeologist, noted for his discoveries in Great Britain and India and for his advancement of scientific technique in archaeology. He was also a great popularizer of his subject, particularly on television. It is possible that he derived his spectacular ability to present scholarly subjects in easily intelligible terms from his family. His mother's father was a professor and his father a journalist. After education at Bradford Grammar School and University College, London, and military service in World War I, Wheeler directed excavations of Roman remains in Essex in 191920. He received his Ph.D. from the University of London in 1920 and then conducted excavations in Wales (192127) and in Hertfordshire (193033), where he unearthed a pre-Roman settlement near St. Albans. Excavating at Maiden Castle in Dorset (193437), he found evidence of a settlement dating from the Neolithic Age, prior to 2000 BC. He conducted further excavations in Brittany and Normandy (193839). After serving in World War II Wheeler was made director-general of archaeology for the government of India (194447), and his research there threw important new light on the civilization of the Indus Valley. From 1948 to 1955 he held the chair of archaeology of the Roman Provinces at the University of London's Institute of Archaeology. He was knighted in 1952 and made a Companion of Honour in 1967. His other distinctions included being chairman of the Ancient Monuments Board for England, a trustee of the British Museum, president of the Society of Antiquaries, and a fellow of the Royal Society. His numerous writings include Archaeology from the Earth (1954) and Still Digging (1955), an autobiography.