Martyn Jope
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Edward Martyn Jope (28 December 1915 – 14 November 1996) was an English
archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
and
chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...
. He worked temporarily during the Second World War as a
biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...
. Following the war, he returned to working in archaeology, first as a
medievalist The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
and later as a
prehistorian Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins  million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
.


Life and career

Martyn Jope studied at
Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...
. While studying for his first degree in chemistry, he worked intensively on the archaeology of the city of Oxford. Soon he joined the Oxford University Archaeological Society and in due course became secretary and president. His first appointment was in 1938 by the
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; ; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectural and historic environment of Wales. ...
. Until the outbreak of World War II, he excavated the medieval settlement of Bere together with R. I. Threlfall, near the village of
North Tawton North Tawton is a small town in Devon, England, situated on the river Taw. It is administered by West Devon Council. The population of the electoral ward at the census 2011 was 2,026. History Romans crossed the River Taw at what is now Newla ...
on the
River Taw The River Taw () in England rises at Taw Head, a spring on the central northern flanks of Dartmoor, crosses North Devon and at the town of Barnstaple, formerly a significant port, empties into Barnstaple Bay in the Bristol Channel, having form ...
in Devon and created one of the first recorded plans of an English medieval farmhouse. During World War II, he temporarily gave up the archaeology and received in 1940 a grant from the
Nuffield Foundation The Nuffield Foundation is a charitable trust established in 1943 by William Morris, Lord Nuffield, the founder of Morris Motors Ltd. It aims to improve social well-being by funding research and innovation projects in education and social pol ...
for the study of
haemoglobin Hemoglobin (haemoglobin, Hb or Hgb) is a protein containing iron that facilitates the transportation of oxygen in red blood cells. Almost all vertebrates contain hemoglobin, with the sole exception of the fish family Channichthyidae. Hemoglobi ...
s in human blood at the
London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and London Borough of Tow ...
in
Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...
. Later, the Medical Research Council supported his research on the application of spectroscopic methods and chemical-biological spectro-microscopy for biological studies, but later he moved back towards archaeology. In 1946, Jope was elected 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 ...
. In 1949, Jope received a call for a new post as a lecturer of archaeology at
Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...
at the suggestion of geography Professor
Emyr Estyn Evans Emyr Estyn Evans CBE (29 May 1905 – 12 August 1989) was a Welsh geographer and archaeologist, whose primary field of interest was the Irish neolithic. Early life He was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, the son of a Welsh Presbyterian minis ...
. This lectureship has evolved into a department under Jope, first as a lecturer from 1954 to 1963, and then as professor from 1963 until his retirement in 1981. Jope maintained a house in Oxford for his holidays and later retirement. He used this as the basis for his English field work, especially on the subject of medieval pottery in the southwest of England. From there, he has excavated
Ascot d'Oilly Castle __NOTOC__ Ascot d'Oilly Castle is situated north of the village of Ascott-under-Wychwood in the north west region of Oxfordshire. It is a scheduled ancient monument. A fragment of the castle remains and is a Grade II listed building. It was name ...
,
Deddington Castle Deddington Castle is an extensive Earthworks (archaeology), earthwork in the village of Deddington, Oxfordshire, all that remains of an 11th-century motte-and-bailey castle, with only the earth Rampart (fortification), ramparts and Motte-and-bai ...
, the medieval pottery kilns at
Brill Brill may refer to: Places * Brielle (sometimes "Den Briel"), a town in the western Netherlands * Brill, Buckinghamshire, a village in England * Brill, Cornwall, a small village to the west of Constantine, Cornwall, UK * Brill, Wisconsin, an un ...
and some medieval sites in Oxford. He devoted himself to various parts of the provincial archaeology publications on topics such as the Neolithic Axe trade, metalwork from the
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
, the raths and earthworks of the early Christian period, such as the fort of Dunglady, medieval castles and the houses of the plantations of the 18th century. The result was the publication of the magisterial archaeological survey of
County A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
Down in 1966. This was the first systematic examination of the entire Archaeology of an Irish county. In 1963 he became a Fellow of 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 ...
. Until the early 1960s he was one of the main actors in the development of the archaeology of the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
either by the survey of buildings, by the study of ceramics or by being one of the first teams excavating a medieval city. His attention then turned to more research on the Iron Age, in particular the completion of a book on the art of this period in the British Isles. He published his preliminary studies on the subject, but unfortunately he did not survive the final release of the entire work. The two-volume work, "Early Celtic Art in the British Isles" was published posthumously and provides a comprehensive analysis of the development of the Celtic designs from the 4th century BC to the beginnings of the British Romanization in the 1st century AD. Jope showed the unique traces of the origins of art on the islands of Great Britain by a variety of art objects, especially swords, scabbards and brooches, and examined the development of the decoration of ceremonial armour and shields. The use of gold in the 3rd century BC and images of humans, animals and plants are also discussed and compared in the whole work amongst each other and with Celtic artefacts. Weapons, armour, vessels, mirrors, jewellery and horse equipment illustrate the sophistication of Celtic designs. A large part of the study to take a single Celtic design elements, such as the use of S-shapes and spirals, the principles of design and metal working techniques and tools.Early Celtic Art in the British Isles
Book review by Oxbow Books. He led the campaign of the British Academy for a separate state funds for archaeological research since 1976 and served in its first science-based Archaeology Committee. The creation of the Department of Archaeological Sciences at the
University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...
goes back to his inspiration. He was a visiting professor there 1974–81 and was an honorary visiting professor from 1982 to 1996. Jope's enormous contribution to medieval and modern Irish Archaeology earned him membership of the
Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...
in 1973. He was a member of the
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; ; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectural and historic environment of Wales. ...
from 1963 to 1986 and 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 1980 to 1984. Jope used his archaeological and scientific knowledge to inspire the creation of the Institute of Archaeological Sciences at the University of Bradford, and as co-director of the palaeoecological Centre at Queen's University in Belfast, to motivate his staff in their work on
dendrochronology Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of chronological dating, dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed in a tree. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, ...
and studies to guide the
radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...
.


Work ethos

His work always began with close observation of the individual sites or artefacts. He asked that any statement should be based on facts, regardless of whether this was a publication, a student work or the widespread beliefs. He expressed the conviction that the social and economic reasons why people have an artefact or a building or used, are an important part of the study.


Family

Martyn Jope married Margaret Halliday in 1941. They were closely linked together and shared all aspects of life, from biology to music. His wife was a biochemist and an archaeologist, and like him a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. They were regular visitors at
Burlington House Burlington House is a building on Piccadilly in Mayfair, London. It was originally a private English Baroque and then Neo-Palladian mansion owned by the Earl of Burlington, Earls of Burlington. It was significantly expanded in the mid-19th cent ...
together, both during the semester break of Queen's University and after retirement.


Published works

* E. M. Jope and G. Huse:
Blue Pigment of Roman date from Woodeaton
'' Oxoniensia, Vol V, Page 167, 1940. * R. L. S. Bruce Mitford and E. M. Jope:
Eleventh- and Twelfth- Century Pottery from the Oxford Region
'' Oxoniensia, Vol V, Page 42, 1940.
Further publications in Oxoniensia
* E. M. Jope and R. I. Threlfall, ''Excavation of a medieval settlement at Beere, North Tawton, Devon,'' Med. Archaeol., 11 (1958), Pages 121–122. * E. M. Jope: ''Ancient monuments of Northern Ireland.'' Northern Ireland Ministry, Nr. 2, 1969. * J.Z. Young, Royal Society (Great Britain), British Academy, E. M. Jope and Kenneth Page Oakley: ''The Emergence of Man: A Joint Symposium of the Royal Society and the British Academy.'' January 1981, * E. M. Jope, D. Ellis Evans, John G. Griffith: ''Proceedings of the Seventh International Congress of Celtic Studies Held at Oxford, from 10th to 15th July, 1983'', January 1986, * E. M. Jope and H. M. Jope
''Note on collagen molecular preservation in an 11 ka old Megaceros (Giant Deer) antler: solubilization in a non-aqueous medium (anhydrous formic acid).''
Applied Geochemistry, Band 4, Heft 3, Mai-Juni 1989, Seiten 301-302, First International Workshop on Fossil Bone. * E. M. Jope
''Bersu's Goldberg IV: A Petty Chief's Establishment of the 6th–5th Centuries,''
B.C.Oxford Journal of Archaeology, (1997), 16: 227–241. * E. M. Jope: ''Early Celtic Art in the British Isles.'', Oxford University Press, 2000.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jope, Edward Martyn 1915 births 1996 deaths English medievalists English archaeologists English biochemists English chemists Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the British Academy People of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England