Anna Mary Hawthorn Kitson Clark, (14 May 1905 – 1 February 2005), married name Mary Chitty, was an English
archaeologist, curator, and
independent scholar
A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...
. She specialised in the archaeology of
Romano-British
The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
but was also involved in
excavations
In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...
outside the United Kingdom and the
Roman period. Her 1935 work, ''A Gazetteer of Roman Remains in East Yorkshire'', "remains one of the starting points for any study of the Romans in the north of England".
Early life and education
Kitson Clark was born on 14 May 1905 in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
, Yorkshire, England.
She was the youngest of three children born to Edwin Kitson Clark (1866–1943) and Georgina Kitson Clark (''née'' Bidder); an elder brother was the historian
George Kitson Clark.
Her paternal grandfather was
Edwin Charles Clark,
Regius Professor of Civil Law at Cambridge University, and her maternal great-grandfather was
George Parker Bidder
George Parker Bidder (13 June 1806 – 20 September 1878) was an English engineer and calculating prodigy.W. W. Rouse Ball (1960) ''Calculating Prodigies'', in Mathematical Recreations and Essays, Macmillan, New York, chapter 13.
Early life
B ...
, an eminent engineer.
Kitson Clark was first educated at home and then at
Leeds Girls' High School
Leeds Girls' High School (LGHS) was an independent, selective, fee-paying school for girls aged 3–18 founded in 1876 in Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It merged with Leeds Grammar School in 2005 to form The Grammar School at Le ...
, a
selective independent school in Leeds.
She then
matriculated
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...
into
Girton College, Cambridge
Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college statu ...
to study the history
tripos
At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...
.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree, she remained at the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
to study for the one-year diploma in archaeology.
Career
Kitson Clark belonged to the generation of amateur archaeologists who remained as
independent scholars
A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher ...
; over her lifetime she "witnessed the decline in influence of the amateur, independent scholar, and the rise of a professional class of archaeologist and historian".
From 1929 to 1943, she was secretary of the Roman Antiquities Committee for Yorkshire; her father had been its treasurer.
During this time, she published her ''
magnum opus
A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
'', ''A Gazetteer of Roman Remains in East Yorkshire'' (1935). It was described in 1990 as a "well-loved, well-thumbed classic", and according to her obituary in ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' "remains one of the starting points for any study of the Romans in the north of England".
From 1941 to 1943, she was also the curator of Roman Antiquities at the
Yorkshire Museum
The Yorkshire Museum is a museum in York, England. It was opened in 1830, and has five permanent collections, covering biology, geology, archaeology, numismatics and astronomy.
History
The museum was founded by the Yorkshire Philosophical Soc ...
in
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
.
After her marriage in 1943, Kitson Clark remained a member of the
Yorkshire Philosophical Society
The Yorkshire Philosophical Society (YPS) is a charitable learned society (charity reg. 529709) which aims to promote the public understanding of the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the archaeology and history of York and Yorkshire.
...
(which, among other things, ran the Yorkshire Museum), becoming its longest-lived Vice-President.
After the death of her husband in 1971, she continued her research. She published a two-volume
monograph on ''The Monks of
Ynys Enlli
Bardsey Island ( cy, Ynys Enlli), known as the legendary "Island of 20,000 Saints", is located off the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The Welsh name means "The Island in the Currents", while its English name refers to the "Is ...
'' (1992, 2000);
the last volume was published just after her 95th birthday.
Kitson Clark was involved in a number of
archaeological excavations. She excavated at a number sites in
East Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to th ...
, and published her findings in ''Gazetteer of Roman Remains in East Yorkshire'' (1935).
In 1929, she went to
Palestine and worked on the
Dorothy Garrod
Dorothy Annie Elizabeth Garrod, CBE, FBA (5 May 1892 – 18 December 1968) was an English archaeologist who specialised in the Palaeolithic period. She held the position of Disney Professor of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge from 1 ...
led excavations of
palaeolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος '' lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone to ...
sites.
In 1935, she was part of a team that excavated
Petuaria
Petuaria (or Petuaria Parisorum) was originally a Roman fort situated where the town of Brough in the East Riding of Yorkshire now stands. Petuaria means something like 'quarter' or 'fourth part', incorporating the archaic Brythonic *''petuar'', ...
, a Roman fort in
Brough, East Riding of Yorkshire
Brough ( , locally ) is a town in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is part of the civil parish of Elloughton-cum-Brough with the neighbouring village of Elloughton. Brough is situated on the northern bank of the Humber Estuary, appro ...
.
Personal life
During her involvement in the 1929 excavations in Palestine, Kitson Clark met her future husband
Derwas James Chitty (1901–1971); he was also an archaeologist and an Anglican priest.
On 5 July 1943, she married Chitty.
Together they had one child, a daughter.
They then lived in
Upton, Berkshire, where he served as its
vicar
A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...
.
After he retired from full-time ministry in 1968, they lived in
Llangwnnadl
Llangwnnadl is a village and former civil parish in the Welsh county of Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders wi ...
, Caernarfonshire, Wales.
Her husband died in 1971 after a "domestic accident".
In her obituary in ''The Independent'' it stated that after his death "Mary was much comforted by her strong Christian beliefs".
On 1 February 2005, Kitson Clark died at Môr Awel, Llangwnnadl, at the age of 99.
Her funeral and a
Requiem Mass
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
were held at St Gwynhoedl's Church in Llangwnnadl on 5 February 2005.
Honours
On 13 January 1938, Kitson Clark was elected a
Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
(FSA): at the time of her death she was the "last surviving fellow elected before the Second World War".
In 1985, a conference was held in her honour by British Romanists; the proceedings of this conference were later published as ''Recent Research in Roman Yorkshire: studies in honour of Mary Kitson Clark (Mrs Derwas Chitty)'' (1988).
Selected works
* Kitson Clark, M. 1931.
Iron Age sites in the Vale of Pickering, ''Yorkshire Archaeological Journal" 30. 157-172.
*
* Kitson Clark, M. 1933. "Some Invasions of Yorkshire", ''Yorkshire Archaeological Journal'' 31. 320-330.
* Kiston Clark, M. 1939. "Where were the Brigantes", ''Yorkshire Archaeological Journal'' 34. 80–87.
* Myers, J.N.L, Steer, K.A., and Chitty, A.H.M. 1962.
The Defences of ''Isurium Brigantum'' (Alborough), ''Yorkshire Archaeological Journal'' 40, 1-79.
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitson Clark, Mary
1905 births
2005 deaths
20th-century archaeologists
20th-century English historians
Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge
British women archaeologists
British archaeologists
British women historians
Classical archaeologists
Yorkshire Museum people
English Anglicans
English archaeologists
English curators
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Independent scholars
People educated at Leeds Girls' High School
People from Gwynedd
Prehistorians
Writers from Leeds
Members of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society
Women classical scholars