Ronald Frank Tylecote (15 June 1916 – 17 June 1990) was a 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 ...
and
metallurgist
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys.
Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
, generally recognised as the founder of the sub-discipline of
archaeometallurgy Archaeometallurgy is the study of the past use and production of metals by humans. It is a sub-discipline of archaeology and archaeological science.
Uses
Archaeometallurgical study has many uses in both the chemical and anthropological fields. Ana ...
.
Education and profession
The son of doctor
Frank Edward Tylecote
Frank Edward Tylecote CBE (23 May 1879 – 7 October 1965) was a British medical doctor, and one of the first physicians to draw attention to the connection between smoking and lung cancer.
Born in Cannock, Staffordshire, Tylecote studied ...
, he was born in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
and educated at
Oundle School. He obtained an
MA from
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.
It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...
in 1938, and an
MSc
MSC may refer to:
Computers
* Message Sequence Chart
* Microelectronics Support Centre of UK Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
* MIDI Show Control
* MSC Malaysia (formerly known as Multimedia Super Corridor)
* USB mass storage device class (USB MSC ...
from the
University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
in 1942, and a
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
on the oxidation of
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
from 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.
After a period in industry working as a welding research engineer, he became an
ICI Research Fellow at
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 1953 he was appointed as a lecturer at
Newcastle University
Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...
, where he became a
Reader
A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to:
Computing and technology
* Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader
* Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application
* A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...
in
Archaeometallurgy Archaeometallurgy is the study of the past use and production of metals by humans. It is a sub-discipline of archaeology and archaeological science.
Uses
Archaeometallurgical study has many uses in both the chemical and anthropological fields. Ana ...
, a post from which he retired in September 1978. In 1976 he began teaching
Archaeometallurgy Archaeometallurgy is the study of the past use and production of metals by humans. It is a sub-discipline of archaeology and archaeological science.
Uses
Archaeometallurgical study has many uses in both the chemical and anthropological fields. Ana ...
at the
Institute of Archaeology,
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
, which led to him becoming an honorary Professor there in 1979.
Work
His early publications on metallurgy include ''The solid phase welding of metals'' (1968). He participated in his first archaeological excavation in 1939, and became known for combining the two interests. Tylecote investigated early mining and smelting sites around the world, including Timna in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
mines of Rio Tinto in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. He also excavated sites in
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. A notable study was the
Wertime Pyrometallurgical Expedition of 1968.
Other work included ''Metallurgy in Archaeology: a Prehistory of Metallurgy in the British Isles'' (1962), which became the standard reference work, an
''The Early History of Metallurgy in Europe''1987). In 1976 he published ''A History of Metallurgy'', and completed the revised second edition just before his death.
In 1962, with G. R. Morton, he founded the Historical Metallurgy Group, initially as a group within the
Iron and Steel Institute, and edited its first ''Bulletin'', published in April 1963. He remained its editor for the rest of his life, as the group became th
Historical Metallurgy Society and the ''Bulletin'' became a journal, ''Historical Metallurgy''.
He is commemorated in the R. F. Tylecote Library of Archaeometallurgical Literature at
University College, London, the R. F. Tylecote Fund at the same institution, and in the grant-giving R. F. Tylecote Memorial Fund of the Historical Metallurgy Society. Following his death the Society published tributes to him from other scholars with whom he had worked, together with a list of his publications.
['Professor Ronald Frank Tylecote, 1916-1990', ''Historical Metallurgy'' 25(1) (1991), 1-20.]
Archives
Tylecote's academic papers are held by the Historical Metallurgy Society
calendar His slag samples are also held by th
Personal life
Having originally married Angela (née Lias, daughter of journalist and writer
Godfrey Lias
Godfrey Lias was a British author, primarily of historical works, as well as a journalist, teacher and military man.
Career
During the first World War, Godfrey Lias was Captain and Adjutant, 11th Battalion Duke of Wellington's Regiment and Inst ...
) whom he divorced in 1950, he married his second wife, Elizabeth Cornelia Johanna (née
Reventlow
Reventlow is the name of a Holstein and Mecklenburg Dano-German noble family, which belongs to the Equites Originarii Schleswig-Holstein. Alternate spellings include Revetlo, Reventlo, Reventlau, Reventlou, Reventlow, Refendtlof and Reffentloff ...
) in 1958. Elizabeth was born in the city of
Sønderborg in 1912, which was then part of
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...
, but became part of
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
after 1918. Having been born in Sønderborg Castle, she had previously changed her name to Berndt, to avoid association with pro-Nazi elements of the aristocratic Reventlow family, and spent much of
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 opposin ...
in Palestine and Egypt. Both Ronald and Elizabeth Tylecote maintained pro-Communist sympathies until the Russian invasion of Hungary in 1956. His son,
Andrew Tylecote
Andrew Tylecote (born 3 January 1946) is a British economist based at The University of Sheffield School of Management. He is best known for his work on the economics of technological change, and for his contributions to long wave economic theory. ...
is an
economist
An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics.
The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
.
References
Biographyfrom Minnesota State University
*R. F. Tylecote (1992) ''A History of Metallurgy'' Institute of Materials
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tylecote, Ronald F
1916 births
1990 deaths
English archaeologists
Scientists from Manchester
Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Alumni of the University of Manchester
Alumni of the University of London
Academics of the University of London
Academics of Newcastle University
Academics of the UCL Institute of Archaeology
People educated at Oundle School