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 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (as it then was). It was introduced by John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, recognising the need for a governmental administrat ...

for the

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

. 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 Winterton Roman villa is a Roman villa in Winterton, North Lincolnshire. It was discovered in 1747. Villa The villa was built in the 2nd century AD and reconstructed in the 4th century. It was partially excavated several times. Between 1958 and 1 ...

Baldock Baldock ( ) is a historic market town and unparished area in the local government district of North Hertfordshire in the county of Hertfordshire, England, where the River Ivel rises. It lies north of London, southeast of Bedford, and north n ...

, and

Verulamium Verulamium was a town in Roman Britain. It was sited southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England. A large portion of the Roman city remains unexcavated, being now park and agricultural land, though much has been built upon ...

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 public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. He was elected as 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) on 3 March 1966, and as a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (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 the United Kingdom # C ...

(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, an ...

''. 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 archaeologists 20th-century archaeologists Living people Employees of the British Museum British archaeologists Prehistorians British curators