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Institutional Archives

Sir Mortimer Wheeler at Cardiff University

26 March 2015

Dubbed ‘the most famous British archaeologist of the twentieth century’, Sir Mortimer Wheeler was the first lecturer in the archaeological department at University College Cardiff (now Cardiff University).[1] He held a joint position with the National Museum of Wales as Keeper of the Archaeological Department.

He became Director of the National Museum of Wales before leaving to become Director of the London Museum. He later became Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India, and the founder and Honorary Director of the Institute of Archaeology in London (now UCL Institute of Archaeology). He also published widely on archaeology and his extensive television work served to popularise archaeological studies.

We have his original application form and accompanying references in the Institutional Archive (ref.: UCC/R/F/126). These documents date from 1920 and we’d like to “SHARE” them with you…!

First page of Application Form
First page of Application Form
Application Form continued
Application Form continued
Reference for Mortimer Wheeler received from Ernest Gardner, Yates Professor of Archaeology, University of London
Reference for Mortimer Wheeler received from Ernest Gardner, Yates Professor of Archaeology, University of London
Letter from Mortimer Wheeler confirming his attendance at interview
Letter from Mortimer Wheeler confirming his attendance at interview
Draft of the first Archaeology syllabus at Cardiff, 1920
Draft of the first Archaeology syllabus at Cardiff, 1920

[1]Moshenska, Gabriel; Schadla-Hall, Tim (2011). “Mortimer Wheeler’s Theatre of the Past”. Public Archaeology (Maney) 10 (1): 46–55 (46).