Malcolm Todd (27 November 19396 June 2013) was an English archaeologist. Born in

Durham, England Durham ( , locally ) is a cathedral city and civil parish in the county of County Durham, Durham, England. It is the county town and contains the headquarters of Durham County Council, the unitary authority which governs the district of Count ...

, the son of a miner, Todd was educated in

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

and classical archaeology at

St David's College, Lampeter University of Wales, Lampeter () was a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822, and incorporated by royal charter in 1828, it was the oldest degree awarding institution in Wales, with limited degree awarding powers since 1852. It was a ...

and

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

. He subsequently served as a reader and professor at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

and the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

respectively. During this time, Todd conducted notable excavations at sites of

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caes ...

. He was later principal at

Trevelyan College, Durham Trevelyan College (known colloquially as Trevs) is a college of Durham University, England. Founded in 1966, the college takes its name from social historian George Macaulay Trevelyan George Macaulay Trevelyan (16 February 1876 – 21 July ...

. Todd retired from Durham in 2000, and subsequently dedicated himself to research and writing. He was the author and editor of several works on the archaeology of Roman Britain and the

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...

in the

Migration Period The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...

Early life

Malcolm Todd was born in

, on 27 November 1939, the son of Wilfrid Todd and Rose Evelyn Johnson. Durham was at the time a characteristic mining and farming community, and his father was a miner.

Education

Todd went to grammar school in

Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...

. Encouraged by his father, who did not want his son to become a miner, he received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree in

from

, and a

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

in classical archaeology from

, in 1963. Among his teachers at Oxford were

Ian Richmond Sir Ian Archibald Richmond, (10 May 1902 – 5 October 1965) was an English archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of the Archaeology of the Roman Empire at the University of Oxford. In addition, he was Director of the British School at ...

. He was later awarded a

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(DLitt) degree by Lampeter.

Career

Early career

During his studies, Todd became strongly interested in the archaeology of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

provinces of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, and from 1963 to 1965 he worked as a research assistant at

Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn The Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn, or LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, is a museum in Bonn, Germany, run by the Rhineland Landscape Association. It is one of the oldest museums in the country. In 2003 it completed an extensive renovation. The museum has a ...

under Harald von Petrikovits. Todd married Molly Tanner on 2 September 1964, with whom he had a daughter and a son.

University of Nottingham: 1965–1979

Todd was

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

(1965–1974), senior lecturer (1974–1977) and reader (1977–1979) in archaeology at the

. He became known as a capable and inspiring lecturer. While at Nottingham, Todd carried out excavations at Ancaster, Margidunum and medieval

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent () or Newark is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...

. He became a corresponding member of the

German Archaeological Institute The German Archaeological Institute (, ''DAI'') is a research institute in the field of archaeology (and other related fields). The DAI is a "federal agency" under the Federal Foreign Office, Federal Foreign Office of Germany. Status, tasks and ...

in 1977. Todd was visiting professor at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1979.

University of Exeter: 1979–1996

In 1979, Todd was appointed professor of archaeology at the

. He was the first archaeologist appointed a professor at Exeter since the teaching of archaeology had been established there some years earlier under Aileen Fox. While at Exeter, Todd specialized in the archaeology of the late Roman Empire and the

urbanism Urbanism is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built environment. It is a direct component of disciplines such as urban planning, a profession focusing on the design and management of urban ...

in early Europe, and relations between the Roman Empire and "

barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

". It was while at Exeter that he carried out his most notable archaeological fieldwork. Todd uncovered a previously unrecognised Roman occupation of the Iron Age

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

in Hembury. At Bury Barton he identified two Roman sites, including a fort. Todd also researched Roman mining of

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

in the Mendips. He found evidence of Roman

galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crysta ...

ore extraction at Charterhouse-on-Mendip. Combined with his duties at Exeter, Todd was active in the broader scholarly community. He was a visiting fellow at

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...

, in 1984. Todd was editor of ''

Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...

'' for five years, and was later chairman of its editorial committee, which also oversees the publishing of the ''

Journal of Roman Studies The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies (The Roman Society) was founded in 1910 as the sister society to the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies. The Society is the leading organisation in the United Kingdom for those interest ...

''. He was vice-president of the

Roman Society The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1,200-year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which at its peak covered an area from present-day ...

from 1985 until his death. Todd was on the

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal ...

from 1986 to 1992, and on the council of the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

from 1987 to 1991. From 1990 to 1991 he was visiting fellow at Brasenose College, Oxford, and a senior research fellow at the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

. Todd was trustee of the Roman Research Trust from 1994 to 1999. He was 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 ...

Trevelyan College: 1996–2000

In 1996, Todd returned to his hometown to become principal of

. He simultaneously held a part-time post tasked with extending the Department of Archaeology. During this time Todd was also an archaeological consultant to

Durham Cathedral Durham Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Durham, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Durham and is the Mother Church#Cathedral, mother church of the diocese of Durham. It also contains the ...

. Under his leadership, significant changes were made to the management structure of Trevelyan, new fellowships, scholarships and awards were introduced, and its buildings were renovated.

Last years

Though well liked by many of his students, Todd had little patience with administrative work, and had an ambivalent view on the digitization of academia. As a result, he took an early retirement from Trevelyan in 2000, which enabled him to focus entirely on writing and research. After his retirement Todd returned to Exeter, where he continued to own a house. During this time he edited and published ''Companion to Roman Britain'' (2004), which has been referred to by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' as an essential work. He also published the results of his excavations at Charterhouse-on-Mendip. Todd died of a heart attack on 6 June 2013. Throughout his career, he was the author of numerous books and scholarly articles, and also wrote entries for works such as the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'', '' Cambridge Ancient History'' and ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

''. His bibliography includes three books about the Germanic peoples, on whom he was considered to be a leading expert. Several of these were translated into multiple languages, such as French, German and Italian. His books also covered topics related to the Roman Empire, including the

Aurelian Walls The Aurelian Walls () are a line of city walls built between 271 AD and 275 AD in Rome, Italy, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Aurelian. They superseded the earlier Servian Wall built during the 4th century BC. The walls enclosed all the ...

Roman currency Roman currency for most of Roman history consisted of gold, silver, bronze, orichalcum#Numismatics, orichalcum and copper coinage. From its introduction during the Roman Republic, Republic, in the third century BC, through Roman Empire, Imperial ...

, populated places of Britain,

Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...

tribes, and the

end of Roman rule in Britain The end of Roman rule in Britain occurred as the military forces of Roman Britain withdrew to defend or seize the Western Roman Empire's continental core, leaving behind an autonomous post-Roman Britain. In 383, the usurper Magnus Maximus wit ...

Selected works

* * * * * * * * * (Editor) * * * * * * (Editor) * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Todd, Malcolm 1939 births 2013 deaths Academics of Durham University Academics of the University of Nottingham Academics of the University of Exeter Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Alumni of the University of Wales, Lampeter English archaeologists English editors English historians English non-fiction writers Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London German Archaeological Institute Germanic studies scholars Historians of Roman Britain People from Durham, England Principals of Trevelyan College People of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England