Alan George Vince (30 March 1952 – 23 February 2009) was a British

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

who studied Saxon, medieval and early modern ceramics through the application of petrological,

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...

and archaeological techniques. He was also a teacher and a pioneer in the use of computers and the internet in archaeology.

Academic work

Vince was born in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Pl ...

and moved to

Keynsham Keynsham ( ) is a town and civil parish located between Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. It has a population of 16,000. It was listed in the Domesday Book as ''Cainesham'' (as it is pronounced), which is believed to mean the home of ...

in the early 1950s, where he attended Keynsham Grammar School. He went on to study archaeology at

Southampton University , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

, where he was influenced by Professor David Peacock, who was almost entirely responsible for the introduction of ceramic petrology techniques to the study of ceramics from the British Isles. Vince's PhD thesis, ''The Medieval Ceramic Industry of the Severn Valley'', made heavy use of artefacts characterised by petrological analysis, and served as justification for the use of this technique to assist with classification of pottery samples. In 1984, Vince and Martin Biddle of the

Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall Museum (fou ...

, working independently, identified an area to the West of the Roman walled city as the likely location of the middle Anglo-Saxon settlement in London. From 1995, Vince was the managing editor of a new online journal, ''

Internet Archaeology ''Internet Archaeology'' is an academic journal and one of the first fully peer-reviewed electronic journals covering archaeology. It was established in 1996. The journal was part of the eLIb project's electronic journals. The journal is produced ...

''. Based in the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for post-nominals) is a collegiate research university, located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, co ...

, he worked as managing editor until 1999, by which time he had overseen the journal through its formative issues and set the standard for what was to follow. In 1999, Vince stopped working at the University of York to concentrate on his archaeological consultancy, based in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

. As well as his continuing work in the field of ceramic petrology, Vince contributed to many publications, in particular those focusing on the local area, such as ''The City by the Pool: Assessing the Archaeology of the City of Lincoln'' (2003). Vince appeared twice on TV as a pottery expert on the Channel 4 program, ''

Time Team ''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned online in 2022 for two episodes released on YouTube. Created by television producer Tim ...

'': in series 7, episode 10 (''Sutton, Hereford'') and series 10, episode 11 (''Not a Blot on the Landscape, Castle Howard, Yorkshire'').

Personal life

Vince met his wife, Joanna, on a dig in

Coddenham Coddenham is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located to the north of the A14 road (England), A14 road, 8 miles north of Ipswich, the parish also includes the hamlet of Coddenham Green. In 2005 ...

, Suffolk, in 1973. They were married in 1976 and have three children - Leon, Amy and Kate.

Books

* * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vince, Alan 1952 births 2009 deaths British archaeologists People from Bath, Somerset People from Keynsham Alumni of the University of Southampton 20th-century archaeologists