Chris Caple, FSA, FIIC, is a British archaeologist and conservator, who specialises in the conservation of artefacts. He was a senior lecturer/associate professor at Durham University and was director of their postgraduate programme in artefact conservation. Upon his retirement in 2018, he was appointed Emeritus Reader in Archaeological Conservation. [1]
Involved in archaeological excavations from the age of 14, Caple holds degrees from the University of Wales and the University of Bradford. He has worked as a conservator at York Castle Museum 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.
Caple directed excavations at Dryslwyn Castle between 1984 and 1995 and at Nevern Castle between 2008 and 2018. He retired from Durham University. [2] He has written multiple books and papers on archaeology.
Involved in the excavation of archaeological sites since the age of 14, Caple graduated from Cardiff College of the University of Wales in 1979, with a Bachelor of Science in archaeological conservation. [3] In 1986 he received a Ph.D. from the University of Bradford, for researching the composition and manufacturing of medieval copper alloy pins. [3]
Caple has been an excavating archaeologist for 34 years, an archaeological conservator for 32, and a lecturer in the latter subject for 20 years. [4] From 1984, while still a student, to 1988, he worked at the York Castle Museum 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. [3]
Caple has authored two books: Conservation Skills: Judgement, Method and Decision Making in 2000, [5] and Objects: Reluctant Witnesses to the Past in 2006. [6] Both are used as textbooks in courses on conservation, and museum studies. [3] [7] Conservation Skills was reviewed as a broad assessment of the conservation field, [8] and as a "well-balanced" book that "achieves a detached approach without preaching to the audience", [7] using case studies to illustrate the underlying issues of, and philosophy of approach to, conservation. [9] [10] [11] A case study on the "re-reconstruction" of the Sutton Hoo helmet, 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. [12]
Dryslwyn Castle 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 about the 1220s by one of the princes of the kingdom of Deheubarth, and changed hands several times in the struggles between the Welsh and English over the ensuing centuries. It is considered one of the most important remaining structures built by a Welsh chieftain and is a Grade I listed building.
Eric Barff Birley,, was a British historian and archaeologist, particularly associated with the excavation of the forts of Hadrian's Wall, notably at Vindolanda.
Christopher John Scarre, FSA is an academic and writer in the fields of archaeology, pre-history and ancient history. He is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Durham and was head of its archaeology department 2010-2013.
Friedrich Wilhelm Rathgen was a German Chemist and a founder of the field of Conservation science.
The Wiltshire Museum, formerly known as Wiltshire Heritage Museum and Devizes Museum, is a museum, archive and library and art gallery in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. The museum was established and is run by the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society (WANHS), a registered charity founded in 1853. After the purchase of an old grammar school the museum was opened in 1873. Subsequently, it expanded into two Georgian houses on either side and still occupies this location today.
Conservation and restoration of objects made of glass is one aspect of conservation and restoration of cultural heritage. The nature and varying composition of the material, and the variety of types of object made from it, demand certain specialized techniques. The conservator needs to be aware of "agents of deterioration" presenting particular risk to glass objects, and how to prevent or counteract their effects. Relevant education and training is available in certain countries through museums, conservation institutes and universities.
Sir Ian Archibald Richmond, was a British archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of the Archaeology of the Roman Empire at the University of Oxford. In addition, he was Director of the British School at Rome from 1930 to 1932, President of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies from 1958 to 1961, and Director of the Society of Antiquaries of London from 1959 to 1964.
John Joseph Wilkes, is a British archaeologist and academic. He is Emeritus Yates Professor of Greek and Roman Archaeology at University College London.
Peter Vincent Addyman,, known as P. V. Addyman, is a British archaeologist, who was Director of the York Archaeological Trust from 1972 to 2002. Addyman obtained a degree in archaeology at Cambridge University, after which he lectured at Queen's University Belfast and the University of Southampton, while also conducting excavations. In 1972 he was offered the directorship of the newly founded York Archaeological Trust, the creation of which he had proposed; along with excavation work in York, he oversaw the development of the Jorvik Viking Centre, the Archaeological Resource Centre, and Barley Hall. In 2000 he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Dame Rosemary Jean Cramp, is a British archaeologist and academic specialising in the Anglo-Saxons. She was the first female professor appointed at Durham University and was Professor of Archaeology from 1971 to 1990. She served as President of the Society of Antiquaries of London from 2001 to 2004.
Paul Barry Pettitt, FSA is a British archaeologist and academic. He specialises in the Palaeolithic era, with particular focus on claims of art and burial practices of the Neanderthals and Pleistocene Homo sapiens, and methods of determining the age of artefacts from this time. Since 2013, he has been Professor of Archaeology at Durham University. He previously taught at Keble College, Oxford and the University of Sheffield.
Cecily Margaret Guido,, also known as Peggy Piggott, was an English archaeologist, prehistorian, and finds specialist. Her career in British archaeology spanned sixty years, and she is recognised for her field methods, her field-leading research into prehistoric settlements, burial traditions, and artefact studies, as well as her high-quality and rapid publication, contributing more than 50 articles and books to her field between the 1930s and 1990s.
Herbert James Maryon was an English sculptor, conservator, goldsmith, archaeologist and authority on ancient metalwork. Maryon practiced and taught sculpture until retiring in 1939, then worked as a conservator with the British Museum from 1944 to 1961. He is best known for his work on the Sutton Hoo ship-burial, which led to his appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
William Andrew Oddy, is a former Keeper of Conservation at the British Museum, notable for his publications on artefact conservation and numismatics, and for the development of the Oddy test. In 1996 he was awarded the Forbes Prize "for outstanding work in the field of conservation" by the International Institute for Conservation, and gave the attendant Forbes Lecture that year in Copenhagen. He retired in 2002 and was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire the same year.
The Conservation of South Asian household shrines is an activity dedicated to the preservation of household shrines from South Asia. When applied to cultural heritage, held by either museums or private collectors, this activity is generally undertaken by a conservator-restorer. South Asian shrines held in museum collections around the world are principally shrines relate to Hindu, Jain, or Buddhist households. Due to their original use and sacred nature, these shrines present unique conservation and restoration challenges for those tasked with their care.
Percival David Turnbull was a British archaeologist.
Ione Gladys Gedye was a pioneer conservator who founded the Repair Department at the Institute of Archaeology. She worked for over several decades in conservation at the Institute and was also a significant influence in the early years of archaeologically-themed television programmes.
The archaeology of Wales is the study of human occupation within the country of Wales which has been occupied by modern humans since 225,000 BCE, with continuous occupation from 9,000 BCE. Analysis of the sites, artefacts and other archaeological data within Wales details its complex social landscape and evolution from Prehistoric times to the Industrial period. This study is undertaken by academic institutions, consultancies, charities as well as government organisations.
Henry Woolmington Mackenzie Hodges was a British archaeologist and academic who taught at Queen's University, Belfast, the University of London Institute of Archaeology, and Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. He played a crucial role in the developing field of archaeological conservation and the study of ancient artifacts, and the establishment of conservation training programmes in the U.K. and Canada. He also published books on, and contributed to journals dedicated to, his areas of expertise.