Philip Arthur Barker (22 August 1920 – 2001) was a British archaeologist who was most famous for his work on excavation methodology.

Education

He left school with no qualifications and served in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

before he trained as a teacher. He taught Art at

the Priory Grammar School for Boys, Shrewsbury The Priory Grammar School for Boys was a maintained (state-funded) grammar school for boys located in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England. It was established in 1910 and the last grammar school students left in 1983. History Th ...

and established a flourishing archaeological society at the school, which conducted a large number of excavations in the area, including a section of the town walls at Roushill in Shrewsbury.

Career

His interest in archaeology led him to become an academic at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

. For many years, he was the archaeologist at

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire, England, situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Bles ...

. During the 1970s and the 1980s he worked to help establish

Rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an accident or a dangerous situation. Tools used might include search and rescue dogs, mounted search and rescue ...

and the

Institute of Field Archaeologists The Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) is a professional organisation for archaeologists working in the United Kingdom and overseas. It was founded in 1982, and at 21 July 2020 had 3,931 members overall, of whom 3,033 were accredited ...

and undertook excavation work at

Wroxeter Wroxeter is a village in Shropshire, England, which forms part of the civil parish of Wroxeter and Uppington, beside the River Severn, south-east of Shrewsbury. '' Viroconium Cornoviorum'', the fourth largest city in Roman Britain, was site ...

and

Hen Domen Hen Domen Welsh, meaning "old mound", is the site of a medieval timber motte-and-bailey castle in Powys, Wales. It is the site of the original Montgomery Castle, and was built by Roger de Montgomery in 1070. From 1105 the castle was the home of t ...

. He served as the Chair of the

Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust (CPAT) ( cy, Ymddiriedolaeth Archeolegol Clwyd-Powys (YACP)) is an educational charity which was established in 1975. Its objective is ‘to advance the education of the public in archaeology’. CPAT is one of ...

from 1984 to 1991. He wrote the comprehensive guide to field archaeology, ''Techniques of Archaeological Excavation'', in 1977, and it remains in print. Barker specialised in castle studies and in 1987 was a founding member of the Castle Studies Group. The excavations at Hen Domen led to the publication of a book about the project and another about timber castles more broadly, jointly written with Robert Higham.

References

Bibliography

* Chris Musson and Charles Hill. "Philip Barker 1920–2001." Council for British Archaeology, Wales. , Spring 2001. * by Robert Higham.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Philip 1920 births 2001 deaths English archaeologists Castellologists Academics of the University of Birmingham Royal Air Force personnel of World War II