Ian Mathieson Stead (born 1936) is a British archaeologist and curator, specialising in the

British Iron Age The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ire ...

. Stead was an

Inspector of Ancient Monuments The Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 ( 45 & 46 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was introduced by John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, recognising the need for a governmental administration on the protection ...

for the

UK Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

. Along with

Geoffrey Wainwright Geoffrey Wainwright (1939 – 17 March 2020) was an English theologian. He spent much of his career in the United States and taught at Duke Divinity School. Wainwright made major contributions to modern Methodist theology and Christian liturgy, ...

and Brian Davison, Stead was part of the 'Government digging team' working under the Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments. With the Inspectorate he undertook excavations at Winterton Roman villa,

Baldock Baldock ( ) is a historic market town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. The River Ivel rises from springs in the town. It lies north of London and north northwest of the county town of Hertford. Nearby towns inc ...

, and

Verulamium Verulamium was a town in Roman Britain. It was sited southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England. The major ancient Roman route Watling Street passed through the city, but was realigned in medieval times to bring trad ...

amongst many others. He subsequently worked as the deputy keeper of the Department of Prehistoric and Romano-British Antiquities of 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 ...

. He was elected as a

Fellow of the 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 ...

(FSA) on 3 March 1966, and as a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

(FBA) in 1991. In 1995 he was presented with a ''

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

'' by former colleagues at the British Museum titled ''Sites and Sights of the Iron Age: Essays on Fieldwork and Museum Research Presented to Ian Mathieson Stead''.

Select publications

*Stead, I. M. 1976. ''Excavations at Winterton Roman villa and other Roman sites in north Lincolnshire 1958-1967''. London, HMSO. *Stead, I. M. 1979. ''The Arras Culture'', York,

Yorkshire Philosophical Society The Yorkshire Philosophical Society (YPS) is a charitable learned society (charity reg. 529709) which aims to promote the public understanding of the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the archaeology and history of York and Yorkshire. ...

. *Stead, I.M. 1985. ''The

Battersea Shield The Battersea Shield is one of the most significant pieces of ancient Celtic art found in Britain. It is a sheet bronze covering of a (now vanished) wooden shield decorated in La Tène style. The shield is on display in the British Museum, a ...

''. London, British Museum. *Stead, I. M. and Rigby, V. 1986. ''Baldock: the excavation of a Roman and pre-Roman settlement, 1968-72''. Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies. *Stead, I. M. 1989. ''Verulamium: the King Harry Lane site''. *Stead, I. M. 2000. ''The Salisbury hoard''. Tempus.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stead, Ian 1936 births Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the British Academy 21st-century British archaeologists 20th-century British archaeologists Living people Employees of the British Museum British prehistorians British curators