Prehistoric Pathfinders

Pioneers of English Archaeology

This work draws together a series of pen-portraits of some 40 individuals who helped shape the foundations of English prehistoric and later study, mainly during the 18th and 19th centuries. They represented a diverse cross-section of contemporary society including army officers, churchmen, country squires and gentry, suicides, bankrupts, a probable illegitimate Royal, farmers, tradesmen, plus a scion of the nobility and a superintendant of a ‘lunatic asylum.’ The list is of necessity subjective, as it seemed necessary, wherever possible, to have an image of each individual. As well as portraits, short biographies of each person are embellished with appropriate illustrations, including digs, artifacts, archaeological sites and some of their more interesting tombs, together with other images connected with their activities. The work will hopefully stand as an instructive and entertaining ‘who's-who’ of these early activists, together with an assessment of their importance in the study of the origins of English archaeology.

THE AUTHOR

Barry M. Marsden was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, in 1938. He taught History and Archaeology in schools and colleges of further education, and worked as an extra-mural tutor at four universities. His other interests include military aviation and electric transport, and he has published extensively in books and articles in all three subjects. He has excavated prehistoric sites in his native county, and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a Member of the Institute for Archaeology.