Paul Ashbee (23 June 1918 – 19 August 2009) was a leading British

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

, noted for his many excavations of barrows, or

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

s, and for co-directing the

Sutton Hoo Sutton Hoo is the site of two early medieval cemeteries dating from the 6th to 7th centuries near the English town of Woodbridge. Archaeologists have been excavating the area since 1938, when a previously undisturbed ship burial containing a ...

digs (with

Rupert Bruce-Mitford Rupert Leo Scott Bruce-Mitford, FBA, FSA (14 June 1914 – 10 March 1994) was a British archaeologist and scholar, best known for his multi-volume publication on the Sutton Hoo ship burial. He was a noted academic as the Slade Professor of F ...

) from 1964 to 1972. He was also president of the Just William Society. He died of cancer on 19 August 2009, aged 91.

Personal life

The only child of cabinet maker Lewis Ashbee and Hannah Mary Elisabeth, daughter of house decorator William Edward Birch Brett, of

Thanet Thanet may refer to: *Isle of Thanet, a former island, now a peninsula, at the most easterly point of Kent, England *Thanet District, a local government district containing the island *Thanet College, former name of East Kent College *Thanet Canal, ...

, Kent, Paul Ashbee was born in

Bearsted Bearsted ( , ) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish with railway station in mid-Kent, England, two miles (3.2 km) east of Maidstone town centre. Geography The village was historically concentrated around Church Lane a ...

, near

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He made national headlines when he uncovered the remains of a Roman villa on a farm at Thurnham when still a teenager. He joined the

Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Quee ...

for the duration of the war, followed by the

Control Commission for Germany Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controllin ...

. Although without any qualifications he studied for a diploma in ''European prehistoric archaeology'' at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in 1952, followed by a diploma in education at

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

and a MA at

Leicester University , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

. He became an assistant history master at Britain's first

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

Forest Hill School Forest Hill School is a boys' secondary school and sixth form located in Forest Hill, in the London Borough of Lewisham. The school is in federation with the girls' secondary, Sydenham School, which is nearby. In 2005 the school was given Per ...

Forest Hill, London Forest Hill is a district of the London Borough of Lewisham in south London, south east London, England, on the South Circular Road, London, South Circular Road, which is home to the Horniman Museum. History Like much of London, Forest Hil ...

where he stayed until 1966. He married Richmal Disher in 1952; the niece and literary executor of

Richmal Crompton Richmal Crompton Lamburn (15 November 1890 – 11 January 1969) was a popular English writer, best known for her ''Just William'' series of books, humorous short stories, and to a lesser extent adult fiction books. Life Richmal Crompton Lambu ...

, she was a history student and they met at a dig at

Verulamium Verulamium was a town in Roman Britain. It was sited southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England. A large portion of the Roman city remains unexcavated, being now park and agricultural land, though much has been built upon ...

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

in 1949. She died in 2005, after which Ashbee became president of the Just William Society.

Archaeology

Ashbee went into archaeology (during school holidays) after service in the army through the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

. He excavated widely across southern Britain and is best known as a leading authority on Neolithic and Bronze Age barrows. From 1976 to 1980 he was the President of the

Cornwall Archaeology Society Cornwall Archaeological Society is an amateur archaeological society based in Cornwall, United Kingdom for the study of archaeology in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. It was founded in 1961 by members of the West Cornwall Field Club. History ...

, and was also a commissioner of the

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) was a government advisory body responsible for documenting buildings and monuments of archaeological, architectural and historical importance in England. It was established in 19 ...

for 10 years.

Excavations

* 1949–50 — cemetery at Porthcressa, St Mary's,

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of the ...

* 1950–52 — assistant to

on the early medieval settlement at

Mawgan Porth Mawgan Porth (in kw, Porth Maugan, meaning "St. Mawgan's cove", or ''Porth Glyvyan'', meaning "cove of the Gluvian River") is a beach and small settlement in north Cornwall, England. It is north of Watergate Bay, approximately four miles (6&nbs ...

* 1955 — barrow at Tregulland, north-east of

Bodmin Moor Bodmin Moor ( kw, Goon Brenn) is a granite moorland in north-eastern Cornwall, England. It is in size, and dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. It includes Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, and Rough Tor, a s ...

* 1960 — barrow at Wilsford, Normanton Down,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

* 1964–71 — co-director with Rupert Bruce-Mitford at

* 1970–? — replacement of the capstones of the

entrance grave Entrance grave is a type of Neolithic and early Bronze Age chamber tomb found primarily in Great Britain. The burial monument typically consisted of a circular mound bordered by a stone curb, erected over a rectangular burial chamber and access ...

Bant's Carn Bant's Carn is a Bronze Age Scillonian entrance grave, entrance grave located on a steep slope on the island of St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly, England. The tomb is one of the best examples of a Scillonian entrance ...

and the multi-period settlement at Halangy, St Mary's, Isles of Scilly

Selected works

* * * 1960 ''The Bronze Age Round Barrow in Britain'', Littlehampton Book Services Ltd, * 1970 ''The Earthen Long Barrow in Britain'', University of Toronto Press, * 1974 ''Ancient Scilly'', David & Charles, * 1978 ''The Ancient British'', Geo Abstracts, * 199
''Halangy Down, St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, Excavations 1964–1977
', Cornish Archaeology No 35 * 2005 ''Kent in Prehistoric Times'', The History Press,

References

External links

Just William Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashbee, Paul 1918 births 2009 deaths English archaeologists People from Bearsted History of the Isles of Scilly People of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England