Chris Caple, FSA, FIIC, is a senior lecturer at Durham University, who specialises in the conservation of artefacts. Involved in archaeological excavations from the age of 14, Caple holds degrees from the

University of Wales , latin_name = , image = , caption = Coat of Arms , motto = cy, Goreu Awen Gwirionedd , mottoeng = The Best Inspiration is Truth , established = , , type = Confederal, non-member ...

and the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

. He has worked as a conservator at

York Castle Museum York Castle Museum is a museum located in York, North Yorkshire, England, on the site of York Castle, which was originally built by William the Conqueror in 1068. The museum itself was founded by John L. Kirk in 1938, and is housed in prison b ...

and in 1988 was appointed as director of Durham University's artefact conservation postgraduate programme. In 2002 he was elected a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries 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 ...

Caple directed excavations at

Dryslwyn Castle Dryslwyn Castle ( cy, Castell y Drysllwyn) is a native Welsh castle, sited on a rocky hill roughly halfway between Llandeilo and Carmarthen in Wales. It stands on high ground overlooking the Tywi Valley with extensive views. It was built in abo ...

between 1984 and 1995 and at Nevern Castle between 2008 and 2018. He retired from Durham University. He has written multiple books and papers on archaeology.

Early life and education

Involved in the excavation of archaeological sites since the age of 14, Caple graduated from Cardiff College of the

in 1979, with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

in archaeological conservation. In 1986 he received a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from the

, for researching the composition and manufacturing of medieval copper alloy pins.

Career

Caple has been an excavating archaeologist for 34 years, an archaeological conservator for 32, and a lecturer in the latter subject for 20 years. From 1984, while still a student, to 1988, he worked at the

as the artefacts conservator, after which he took a post at Durham University's department of archaeology as a lecturer in archaeological conservation and archaeological science; in 1988 he also became the director of the university's artefact conservation postgraduate programme. Caple has authored two books: ''Conservation Skills: Judgement, Method and Decision Making'' in 2000, and ''Objects: Reluctant Witnesses to the Past'' in 2006. Both are used as textbooks in courses on conservation, and museum studies. ''Conservation Skills'' was reviewed as a broad assessment of the conservation field, and as a "well-balanced" book that "achieves a detached approach without preaching to the audience", using case studies to illustrate the underlying issues of, and philosophy of approach to, conservation. A case study on the "re-reconstruction" of the

Sutton Hoo helmet The Sutton Hoo helmet is a decorated Anglo-Saxon helmet found during a 1939 excavation of the Sutton Hoo Ship burial, ship-burial. It was buried around 625 and is widely associated with King Rædwald of East Anglia; its elaborate decoration ma ...

, which became an icon of Anglo-Saxon England after it was reconstructed by Herbert Maryon in the 1940s, yet was then reconstructed again by Nigel Williams in the 1970s, focuses on the concepts of reversibility and truthfulness.

Publications

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References

Bibliography

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External links

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List of publications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caple, Chris Conservator-restorers Living people Alumni of the University of Wales Alumni of the University of Bradford Academics of Durham University Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Year of birth missing (living people) Castellologists