Martin Biddle, (born 4 June 1937) is a British archaeologist and academic. He is an emeritus fellow of

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The col ...

. His work was important in the development of medieval and post-medieval archaeology in Great Britain.

Early life

Biddle was born on 4 June 1937. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

boys school in Hertfordshire. He went on to study at Pembroke College, Cambridge, graduating Bachelor of Arts (BA). This was later upgraded to

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

(MA).

Academic career

Biddle was a lecturer in

medieval archaeology ''Medieval Archaeology'' is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal covering the archaeology of the medieval period, especially in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established in 1957 by the Society for Medieval Archaeology and is publishe ...

at the

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

from 1963 to 1967. From 1977 to 1981, he was Professor of Anthropology and of History of Art at

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, and director of its

Penn Museum The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology—commonly known as the Penn Museum—is an archaeology and anthropology museum at the University of Pennsylvania. It is located on Penn's campus in the University City neighb ...

. He was a member of the

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) was a government advisory body responsible for documenting buildings and monuments of archaeological, architectural and historical importance in England. It was established in 19 ...

from 1984 to 1995. He was Astor

Senior Research Fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

in medieval archaeology at

between 1989 and 2002, and also Professor of Medieval Archaeology at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

from 1997 to 2002. Biddle and his wife Birthe Kjølbye-Biddle examined Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre to explore the long-rumoured site of the tomb where Jesus was brought after his crucifixion. This meticulous study set out to define what is known about the tomb and the Aedicule, the little shrine that has covered the tomb since the early fourth century. Proceeding backward from the present, they examined the site in detail, its appearances, and its destructions and rebuilding through the centuries, a survey that was constructed without restrictions, using traditional methods of architectural archaeology and the most recent techniques of photogrammetry.

Excavations

* Seacourt DMV 1958–1959. *

Nonsuch Palace Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor royal palace, built by Henry VIII in Surrey, England; it stood from 1538 to 1682–83. Its site lies in what is now Nonsuch Park on the boundaries of the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey and the London Boro ...

1959–1960 * Winchester 1961–1971 *

Repton Repton is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England, located on the edge of the River Trent floodplain, about north of Swadlincote. The population taken at the 2001 Census was 2,707, increasing to 2,8 ...

* Church of the Holy Sepulchre in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Honours

Biddle was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1997

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

'for services to the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England'. He was promoted to

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the

2014 Birthday Honours The 2014 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of ...

for services to archaeology. On 1 January 1964, Biddle was elected a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

(FSA). In 1985, he was elected Fellow of the British Academy (FBA). He served as president of the

London and Middlesex Archaeological Society The London and Middlesex Archaeological Society (LAMAS) is a society founded in 1855 for the study of the archaeology and local history of the City of London and the historic county of Middlesex. It also takes an interest in districts that were ...

from 2011 to 2014.

Sackler Lecture

In 2012,

Raymond Sackler Raymond Sackler (February 16, 1920 – July 17, 2017) was an American physician and businessman. He acquired Purdue Pharma together with his brothers Arthur M. Sackler and Mortimer Sackler. Purdue Pharma is the developer of OxyContin, the dr ...

and his wife Beverly endowed a series of lectures in honour of

Norman Hammond Norman Hammond (born 10 July 1944) is a British archaeologist, academic and Mesoamericanist scholar, noted for his publications and research on the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. Career Hammond was educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge. He held ac ...

. These lectures are co-hosted by Peterhouse, Cambridge, and the

McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research is a research institute of the University of Cambridge in England. History The institute was established in 1990 through a benefaction from the late Dr Daniel McLean McDonald, a successful ind ...

. The third Sackler lecture in honour of Norman Hammond was given on 27 February 2017 at Peterhouse by Biddle on "Capital Considerations: Winchester and the Birth of Urban Archaeology".

Select works

* * *

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

External links

Biography on Winchester Excavations Committee website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biddle, Martin British archaeologists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 1937 births Living people Fellows of Pembroke College, Cambridge People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Fellows of Hertford College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London University of Pennsylvania faculty Academics of the University of Exeter People of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England