Richard Andrew Hall (17 May 1949 – 13 September 2011) was an English archaeologist who specialized in

Viking activity in the British Isles Viking activity in the British Isles occurred during the Early Middle Ages, the 8th to the 11th centuries AD, when Scandinavians travelled to the British Isles to raid, conquer, settle and trade. They are generally referred to as Vikings, Richard ...

Early life and education

Richard Andrew Hall was born in Ilford on 17 May 1949. He moved to

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

at a young age, where he was educated at the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

. Hall received his first degree in archaeology from Queen's University Belfast in 1971 with a dissertation on

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

activity in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. His dissertation was supervised by Peter Addyman. In the 1985 he received a PhD from the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

with a dissertation on towns of the English

Danelaw The Danelaw (, also known as the Danelagh; ang, Dena lagu; da, Danelagen) was the part of England in which the laws of the Danes held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. The Danelaw contrasts with the West Saxon law and the Mercian ...

Career

Hall joined the

York Archaeological Trust The York Archaeological Trust for Excavation and Research Limited (YAT) is an educational charity, established in 1972 in the city of York, England. It carries out archaeological investigations, fieldwork, excavation and research in York, Yo ...

in 1974 as excavations supervisor. He would eventually hold the position of director of archaeology and deputy director of the trust. At the same time, Hall was a Lecturer in the Department of Continuing Education at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. Hall conducted pioneering research on

Scandinavian York Scandinavian York ( non, Jórvík) Viking Yorkshire or Norwegian York is a term used by historians for the south of Northumbria (modern-day Yorkshire) during the period of the late 9th century and first half of the 10th century, when it was do ...

and helped create the

Jorvik Viking Centre The Jorvik Viking Centre is a museum and visitor attraction in York, England, containing lifelike mannequins and life-size dioramas depicting Viking life in the city. Visitors are taken through the dioramas in small carriages equipped with spea ...

. He also conducted research at the Viking town of

Skiringssal Skiringssal (Old Norse ''Skíringssalr'') was the name of a Viking Age hall which stood at a site now known as Huseby, about 0.73 miles (1.2 km) south-west of Tjølling, a settlement a little over east of Larvik, in the south of the ...

(Kaupang),

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

and suggested that the Scandinavian settlers of York might have originated from that town. Hall was the author of numerous publications on Vikings, on which he was considered one the world's foremost experts. In his writings, he maintained that Vikings were less violent and more advanced than previously believed, and that they have played a significant role in the history of the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

. Hall was a trustee of the Foundation for the Preservation of Archaeological Heritage and served on the Council of the Institute for Archaeologists, the Executive Board of the

Council for British Archaeology The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) is an educational charity established in 1944 in the UK. It works to involve people in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and futu ...

and the Council of the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...

. He was president of the Society for Medieval Archaeology and of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society and served as Chairman of the Council of the Institute for Archaeologists from 1987 to 1989.

Marriages and children

Hall's first marriage to Linda Tollerton ended in divorce. He married ceramics expert Ailsa Mainman in 1991, with whom he had two sons.

Death

Hall died 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 ...

on 13 September 2011, aged 62.

Selected works

* ''The Viking Dig'', 1984 * ''Exploring the World of the Vikings'', 2007

Notes

References

* * * * 1949 births 2011 deaths People educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution Academics of the University of Leeds Alumni of the University of Southampton Alumni of Queen's University Belfast English archaeologists Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London People from Ilford {{UK-archaeologist-stub