Ivor Noël Hume, OBE (30 September 1927 – 4 February 2017) was a British-born archaeologist who did research in the United States. A former director of

Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location a ...

’s archaeological research program and the author of more than 20 books, he was heralded by his peers as the "father of

historical archaeology Historical archaeology is a form of archaeology dealing with places, things, and issues from the past or present when written records and oral traditions can inform and contextualize cultural material. These records can both complement and conflict ...

Biography

Born in London, Noël Hume studied at

Framlingham College Framlingham College is a public school (independent day and boarding school) in the town of Framlingham, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. Together with its preparatory school and nursery at Brandeston Hall, it serves pupils from 3 to 18 ye ...

, Suffolk and St. Lawrence College, Kent. He spent a short stint in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and as an assistant stage manager for a London theatre, before deciding to pursue archaeology as a career and joining the staff of Guildhall Museum in London where he worked from 1949 to 1957. His early speciality was 17th and 18th century wine bottles. He became chief archaeologist and director of the expanded

archaeology program in 1957 and served in that capacity for the next three decades. Noël Hume discovered and excavated the 17th century site of

Wolstenholme Towne Wolstenholme Towne was an English settlement in the Colony of Virginia, east of the colonial capital, Jamestown. One of the earliest English settlements in the New World, the town existed for roughly four years until its destruction in the I ...

, at Carter's Grove Plantation just east of Williamsburg. Wolstenholme at

Martin's Hundred Martin's Hundred was an early 17th-century plantation located along about ten miles (16 km) of the north shore of the James River in the Virginia Colony east of Jamestown in the southeastern portion of present-day James City County, Virgin ...

was one of the early Virginia settlements after Jamestown and evidence of the 1622 Indian attack was found in the deaths of several of the citizens. Major excavations in Colonial Williamsburg included work at the original site of Eastern State Hospital, conducted in 1972 — which was the largest site work since the excavation of the Governor's Palace in 1930 — the James Geddy House and shop, Weatherburn's Tavern and outbuildings and the cabinetmakers shop. Noël Hume retired as Director of the Department of Archaeological Research at Colonial Williamsburg in 1988. In retirement, he directed an excavation (1991–92) at the

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site Fort Raleigh National Historic Site preserves the location of Roanoke Colony, the first English settlement in the present-day United States. The site was preserved for its national significance in relation to the founding of the first English s ...

on Roanoke Island,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, and discovered

Thomas Harriot Thomas Harriot (; – 2 July 1621), also spelled Harriott, Hariot or Heriot, was an English astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer and translator to whom the theory of refraction is attributed. Thomas Harriot was also recognized for his con ...

's 1585–86 "science center" there.

Scholarship and publicity

Noël Hume's work is noted for the effort to put the social life and economic overtones of history into the discoveries unearthed through archaeological examination — thus:

. When he began his career, "historical archaeology did not exist as an academic discipline. It fell to Noël Hume's books, lectures, and television presentations to help bring it to the forefront of his profession, where it stands today," the

University of Virginia Press The University of Virginia Press (or UVaP) is a university press that is part of the University of Virginia. It was established in 1963 as the University Press of Virginia, under the initiative of the university's then President, Edgar F. Shanno ...

said in its fall 2010 catalogue, which features his autobiography, ''A Passion for the Past: The Odyssey of a Transatlantic Archaeologist.'' Carmel Schrire,

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

, author of ''Digging through Darkness: Chronicles of an Archaeologist'', said of Noël Hume's book: "Noël Hume is a household name. This book should be a professional classic, to be read alongside other memoirs like those of

Grahame Clark Sir John Grahame Douglas Clark (28 July 1907 – 12 September 1995), who often published as J. G. D. Clark, was a British archaeologist who specialised in the study of Mesolithic Europe and palaeoeconomics. He spent most of his career working at ...

Glyn Daniel Glyn Edmund Daniel FBA, FRAI (23 April 1914 – 13 December 1986) was a Welsh scientist and archaeologist who taught at Cambridge University, where he specialised in the European Neolithic period. He was appointed Disney Professor of Archa ...

, Gertrude Caton-Thompson, and

Mortimer Wheeler Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler CH CIE MC TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeologist and officer in the British Army. Over the course of his career, he served as Director of both the National Museum of Wales an ...

." In 1991 Noël Hume received the J. C. Harrington Award, presented by the

Society for Historical Archaeology The Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) is a professional organization of scholars concerned with the archaeology of the modern world (15th century-present). Founded in 1967, the SHA promotes scholarly research and the dissemination of knowledg ...

for his life-time contributions to archaeology centered on scholarship. On 17 June 1963, Noël Hume appeared as a "central character" on an episode of the game show '' To Tell the Truth''. Noël Hume died in Virginia on 4 February 2017.

Works

Books

*''Archaeology in Britain'' (1953), W. & G. Foyle. *''Tortoises, Terrapins and Turtles'' (1954), W. & G. Foyle. *''Treasure in the Thames'' (1956), Muller. *''Great Moments in Archaeology'' (1958), Social Science. *''Excavations at Rosewell in Gloucester County, Virginia, 1957–1959'' (1962),

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. *''Here Lies Virginia: An Archaeologist's View Of Colonial Life And History'' (1963),

Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

. *''Excavations at Clay Bank in Gloucester County, Virginia, 1962–1963'' (1966), Smithsonian Institution. *''Excavations at Tutter's Neck in James City County, Virginia, 1960–1961'' (1966), Smithsonian Institution. *''1775: Another Part of the Field'' (1966),

Eyre & Spottiswoode Eyre & Spottiswoode was the London-based printing firm that was the King's Printer, and subsequently, a publisher prior to being incorporated; it once went by the name of Spottiswoode, Ballantyne & co. ltd. In April 1929, it was incorporated as E ...

*''Historical Archaeology'' (1968), Knopf. *''A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America'' (1969), Knopf. *''Glass in Colonial Williamsburg's Archaeological Collections'' (1969),

Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location a ...

. *''Pottery and Porcelain in Colonial Williamsburg's Archaeological Collections'' (1969), Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. *''Archaeology and Wetherburn's Tavern'' (1969), Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. *''The Wells of Williamsburg: Colonial Time Capsules'' (1969), Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. *''James Geddy and Sons: Colonial Craftsmen'' (1970), Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. *''Williamsburg Cabinetmakers: The Archaeological Evidence'' (1971), Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. *''All the Best Rubbish: Being an Antiquary's Account of the Pleasures and Perils of Studying & Collecting Everyday Objects from the Past'' (1974),

Harper & Row Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City. History J. & J. Harper (1817–1833) James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...

. *''Digging for Carter's Grove'' (1974), Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. *''Early English Delftware from London to Virginia'' (1977), Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. *''Martin's Hundred: The Discovery of a Lost Colonial Virginia Settlement'' (1982), Knopf. *''Discoveries in Martin's Hundred'' (1983), Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. *''The Virginia Adventure: Roanoke to James Towne, An Archaeological and Historical Odyssey'' (1994), Knopf. *''Shipwreck! History from the Bermuda Reefs'' (1995), Capstan Publications. *''In Search of This & That: Tales from an Archaeologist's Quest — Selected Essays from the Colonial Williamsburg Journal'' (1996), Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. *''If These Pots Could Talk: Collecting 2,000 years of British Household Pottery'' (2001), Chipstone. *''The Archaeology of Martin's Hundred: Part 1: Interpretive Studies'' (2001), University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology / Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. *''The Archaeology of Martin's Hundred: Part 2: Artifact Catalog'' (2001), University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology / Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. *''Civilized Men: A James Towne Tragedy'' (2005), Dietz Press. *''Something from the Cellar: More of This & That — Selected Essays from the Colonial Williamsburg Journal'' (2005), Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. *''Wreck and Redemption: William Strachey's Saga of the Sea Venture and the Birth of Bermuda – in a Newly Discovered Manuscript'' (2009), Port Hampton Press. *''A Passion for the Past: The Odyssey of a Transatlantic Archaeologist'' (2010),

. *''Belzoni: The Giant Archaeologists Love to Hate'' (2011), University of Virginia Press.

Accolades

Noël Hume was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain in 1993 and was made an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(O.B.E.) for service to the British cultural interests in Virginia.

References

External links

*Th
Amelung Excavation Papers, 1962–1975
are held at the Rakow Research Library of the Corning Museum of Glass. The papers were created by Noël Hume. (Retrieved 23 October 2015) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Noel Hume, Ivor 1927 births 2017 deaths British archaeologists Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Framlingham College People educated at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate Historical archaeologists