Timothy William Potter (6 July 1944 – 11 January 2000) was a

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

of ancient

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, as well as of

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caes ...

, best known for his focus on

landscape archaeology Landscape archaeology, previously known as total archaeology is a sub-discipline of archaeology and archaeological theory. It studies the ways in which people in the past constructed and used the environment around them. It is also known as archae ...

. Potter was educated at March Grammar School in

March, Cambridgeshire March is a The Fens, Fenland market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Isle of Ely area of Cambridgeshire, England. It was the county town of the Isle of Ely which was a separate administrative county from 1889 to 1965. Th ...

, where his father Cedric Potter was headmaster. He followed his brother Christopher to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he read anthropology and archaeology, graduating with a 2:1 in 1966 and obtained his Ph.D. in 1974; his Ph.D. thesis was entitled ''Archaeological Topography of the Central and Southern Ager Faliscus''. In the 1980s Potter excavated at Stonea, a Roman settlement in the fens of

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

. Potter was a student of John Bryan Ward-Perkins and a member of the South Etruria Survey conducted by the

British School at Rome The British School at Rome (BSR) is a British interdisciplinary research centre supporting the arts, humanities and architecture established in Rome. Historical and archaeological study are at the core of its activities. History The British Sc ...

. As part of the survey Potter worked on the '' Ager Faliscus'' leading to two influential books, ''A Faliscan Town in South Etruria: Excavations at Narce 1966-71'' (1976) and ''The changing landscape of South Etruria'' (1979). The survey also led to his important excavations at Monte Gelato (1986-1990) and Narce (1966-1971). Potter also authored a popular course textbook entitled ''Roman Italy'' (1987) as part of the Exploring Roman World series published by British Museum Publishing. Together with Catherine Johns, he also wrote the Roman Britain title in the series. Potter taught at the

University of Lancaster Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...

(1973-1978) where he instituted a new archaeology program. In 1978 he moved to the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

and their department of Prehistoric and Romano-British Antiquities, serving as assistant keeper from 1978 to 1995 and keeper from 1995 until his death.

Bibliography

*"Excavations in the Medieval Centre of Mazzano Romano", in ''Papers of the British School at Rome'' 40, p. 135-45 (1972). *''A Faliscan Town in South Etruria: Excavations at Narce 1966-71'' (1976). * ''Romans in north-west England: excavations at the Roman forts of Ravenglass, Watercrook and Bownes'' (1979). *''The Changing Landscapes of South Etruria'' (1979). * ''Una stipe votiva da Ponte di Nona'' (1989). https://www.worldcat.org/title/22727273 * ''Towns in late antiquity'' (1995). * Jackson Ralph and T. W Potter. 1996. Excavations at Stonea Cambridgeshire 1980–85. London: Published for the Trustees of the British Museum by British Museum Press. * and A. King. ''Excavation of the mola di Monte Gelato: a Roman and Medieval settlement in South Etruria'' (1997). * and Catherine Johns. ''Roman Britain'' (2002).

Necrology

* Necrology by Stephen L. Dyson in ''American Journal of Archaeology'' 104.3 (July 2000) 589–90. * Necrology by Federico Marazzi in ''Archeologia Medievale'' 27 (2000) 435–8.
Obituary - Timothy William Potter, MA, PhD
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Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Timothy W. 1944 births 2000 deaths Falisci Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Academics of Lancaster University 20th-century British archaeologists