John Spencer Purvis Bradford SA, RAI (28 August 1918 - 12 August 1975) was an archaeologist and a pioneer in landscape archaeology and the use of aerial photography.
He was born in Ealing and studied at Christ Church, Oxford University. During the Second World War he was stationed at San Severo, Italy as part of the Mediterranean Allied Photographic Reconnaissance Wing, starting in January 1943 where he analysed photographs taken by the RAF. [1] [2] In 1947, he was appointed University Demonstrator and Lecturer in Ethnology at the Pitt Rivers Museum. [3] He worked in various projects in Italy, Greece and Cyprus that revolved around aerial photography and land surveys. [4] [5]
Stonehenge is a prehistoric megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, two miles (3 km) west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around 13 feet (4.0 m) high, seven feet (2.1 m) wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connecting horizontal lintel stones, held in place with mortise and tenon joints, a feature unique among contemporary monuments. Inside is a ring of smaller bluestones. Inside these are free-standing trilithons, two bulkier vertical sarsens joined by one lintel. The whole monument, now ruinous, is aligned towards the sunrise on the summer solstice and sunset on the winter solstice. The stones are set within earthworks in the middle of the densest complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred tumuli.
Osbert Guy Stanhope Crawford was a British archaeologist who specialised in the archaeology of prehistoric Britain and Sudan. A keen proponent of aerial archaeology, he spent most of his career as the archaeological officer of the Ordnance Survey (OS) and also wrote a range of books on archaeological subjects.
Aerial archaeology is the study of archaeological remains by examining them from a higher altitude. In present day, this is usually achieved by satellite images or through the use of drones.
Stuart Ernest Piggott, was a British archaeologist, best known for his work on prehistoric Wessex.
Archaeology is the study of human activity in the past, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes.
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectural and historic environment of Wales. It is based in Aberystwyth.
In archaeology, survey or field survey is a type of field research by which archaeologists search for archaeological sites and collect information about the location, distribution and organization of past human cultures across a large area. Archaeologists conduct surveys to search for particular archaeological sites or kinds of sites, to detect patterns in the distribution of material culture over regions, to make generalizations or test hypotheses about past cultures, and to assess the risks that development projects will have adverse impacts on archaeological heritage.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham during the British Raj who also became its first Director-General.
The Archaeological Society of Athens is an independent learned society. Also termed the Greek Archaeological Society, it was founded in 1837 by Konstantinos Bellios, just a few years after the establishment of the modern Greek State, with the aim of encouraging archaeological excavations, maintenance, care and exhibition of antiquities in Greece.
John Bryan Ward-Perkins, was a British Classical architectural historian and archaeologist, and director of the British School at Rome.
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) was an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government that was "sponsored" [financed and with oversight] through Historic Scotland, an executive agency of the Scottish Government.
Erich Friedrich Schmidt was a German and American-naturalized archaeologist, born in Baden-Baden. He specialized in Ancient Near East Archaeology, and became professor emeritus at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. He was also a pioneer in using aerial photography in archaeological research.
Marilyn Christine Bridges is an American photographer noted for her fine art black and white aerial photographs of extraordinary ancient and modern landscapes. She has photographed sacred and secular sites in over 20 countries, including Peru, Mexico, France, Britain, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Australia, Namibia, Indonesia and India. Bridges is a licensed pilot and a Fellow of the Explorers Club. She lives in New York.
Landscape history is the study of the way in which humanity has changed the physical appearance of the environment – both present and past. It is sometimes referred to as landscape archaeology. It was first recognised as a separate area of study during the 20th century and uses evidence and approaches from other disciplines including archaeology, architecture, ecology, aerial photography, rephotography, local history and historical geography.
The Acropolis of Rhodes is the acropolis, or upper town, of ancient Rhodes dating from the 5th century BC and located 3 kilometers SW from the centre of the modern city. Situated on Monte Smith overlooking the west coast of the island, the archaeological site includes some of the most important monuments in the ancient city, such as the Temple of Athena Polias and Zeus Polieus and the Temple of Apollo, below which are a stadium, an odeon and a gymnasium. Unlike other acropoleis, no walled citadel was built here.
Leslie Valentine Grinsell was an English archaeologist and museum curator. Publishing over twenty books on archaeology during his lifetime, he was renowned as a specialist on the prehistoric barrows of southern England.
Margaret Ursula Jones was an English archaeologist, best known for directing major excavations at Mucking, Essex.
Digital archaeology is the application of information technology and digital media to archaeology. It includes the use of digital photography, 3D reconstruction, virtual reality, and geographical information systems, among other techniques. Computational archaeology, which covers computer-based analytical methods, can be considered a subfield of digital archaeology, as can virtual archaeology.
Major George W. G. Allen, was a British engineer who pioneered aerial photography for the purpose of archaeological research.
Harries Collin Bowen, was a Welsh archaeologist and landscape historian. He served in the Royal Welch Fusiliers, British Army during the Second World War, and then studied history at Merton College, Oxford. From 1949 to his retirement in 1980, he worked for the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England.