Michael Grierson Jarrett (8 January 1934 – 14 November 1994), also commonly known as Mike Jarrett, was a British archaeologist and

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

activist. Specialising in the archaeology 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 ...

(particularly around the frontiers), he spent much of his academic career at

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

, where he was awarded a personal chair in 1980. Outside of academia, Jarrett was a prominent member of the

Campaign for Homosexual Equality The Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) was a membership organisation in the United Kingdom with a stated aim from 1969 to promote legal and social equality for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals in England and Wales. Active throughout the 1970s ...

Education

Jarrett, a Lancastrian, was educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly Selective school, selective Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom, private day school for boys aged 7-18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). ...

and

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

, where he graduated with a degree in history. He fell under the influence of

Eric Birley Eric Barff Birley Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...

. His Ph.D., entitled ''A Study of the municipal aristocracies of the Roman Empire in the west, with special reference to North Africa'', was awarded in 1958. A programme of archaeological excavations soon followed at

Halton Chesters Hunnum (also known as Onnum, and with the modern name of Halton Chesters) was a Ancient Rome, Roman castra, fort on Hadrian's Wall located north of the modern-day village of Halton, Northumberland in North East England. It was the fifth fort o ...

and, most notably,

Maryport Maryport is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is on the coast of the Solway Firth and lies at the northern end of the former Cumberland Co ...

Career

Jarrett joined the newly founded Department of Archaeology at

University College, Cardiff Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

in 1960 as a lecturer in Roman-British History and Archaeology. Given his background as a 'Wall' archaeologist this might have been expected to be a temporary post before an inevitable return to the North. Instead, Jarrett stayed in Cardiff long term and embarked on a series of ambitious excavations of the

Roman forts ''Castra'' () is a Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified military base.. Included is a discuss ...

of Wales. Based on this research, he published in 1969 what is considered his

magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

, the second edition of ''The Roman Frontier in Wales'', which built on the first edition written by

Victor Erle Nash-Williams Victor Erle Nash-Williams (21 August 1897 – 15 December 1955) was a noted Welsh archaeologist. On the death of his father, Albert Henry Williams, his mother, Maude Rosetta (née Nash) Williams, formally adopted the surname "Nash-Williams". ...

. During the 1970s his fieldwork energies were split between the deserted medieval village of West Whelpington, near

Kirkwhelpington Kirkwhelpington is a village and civil parish in the English county of Northumberland about northeast of Hexham. It is on the River Wansbeck alongside the A696 trunk road between Otterburn and Ponteland. History Kirkwhelpington has medie ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, and the site of the

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...

at Whitton,

South Glamorgan South Glamorgan () is a preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Wales. It was originally formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a county council area. It consisted of the county borough of Cardiff along with the south ...

. Ill health terminated his fieldwork in the 1980s, though he continued contributing to academic journals. Before his death he had become interested in the early architectural history of

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 ...

, and his study of its building phases appeared posthumously in ''

The Antiquaries Journal ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

''. At Cardiff he was known for his unusual teaching style. He once delivered a lecture lying on his back on a desk blowing

smoke rings A smoke ring is a visible vortex ring formed by smoke in a clear atmosphere. Smokers may blow smoke rings from the mouth, intentionally or accidentally. Smoke rings may also be formed by sudden bursts of fire (such as lighting and immediate ...

, and on a different occasion walked through one door while making a point and returned through another still discussing it.

Personal

In 1976, Jarrett wrote an article for a church magazine objecting to critical comments on homosexuality made by

Archbishop of Wales The post of Archbishop of Wales () was created in 1920 when the Church in Wales was separated from the Church of England and disestablished. The four historic Welsh dioceses had previously formed part of the Province of Canterbury, and so came ...

Gwilym Williams Gwilym Owen Williams (23 March 1913 – 23 December 1990) was a prominent figure in the Church in Wales who served as Bishop of Bangor from 1957 to 1982 and Archbishop of Wales from 1971 to 1982. Biography Williams was born to a deeply religiou ...

, and suggested that gay clergy were 'not rare'. He died from

liver failure Liver failure is the inability of the liver to perform its normal synthetic and metabolic functions as part of normal physiology. Two forms are recognised, acute and chronic (cirrhosis). Recently, a third form of liver failure known as acute- ...

on 14 November 1994, and was survived by his partner Shaun. His obituary in ''

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 ...

'' simply noted that he was unmarried.

Publications

Books

* Nash-Williams, V. E., and Michael G. Jarrett. ''The Roman Frontier in Wales''. 2nd ed., University of Wales Press, 1969. * Jarrett, Michael Grierson. ''Maryport, Cumbria: a Roman Fort and Its Garrison''. Wilson & Son, 1976. * Jarrett, Michael G., and Stuart Wrathmell. ''Whitton: an Iron Age and Roman Farmstead in South Glamorgan''. University of Wales Press, 1981.

Articles

* Jarrett, Michael G. “The Career of L. Titinius Clodianus.” ''Latomus'', vol. 21, no. 4, 1962, pp. 853–859. * Jarrett, Michael G. “The African Contribution to the Imperial Equestrian Service.” ''Historia: Zeitschrift Für Alte Geschichte'', vol. 12, no. 2, 1963, pp. 209–226. * Jarrett, Michael G. “Decurions and Priests.” ''

The American Journal of Philology The ''American Journal of Philology'' is a quarterly academic journal established in 1880 by the classical scholar Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve and published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. It covers the field of philology, and related areas ...

'', vol. 92, no. 4, 1971, pp. 513–538. * Jarrett, Michael G. “An Unnecessary War.” ''

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 ...

'', vol. 7, 1976, pp. 145–151. * Jarrett, Michael G., and Stuart Wrathmell. “Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Farmsteads: West Whelpington, Northumberland.” ''

The Agricultural History Review The ''Agricultural History Review. A Journal of Agricultural and Rural History'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published quarterly by the British Agricultural History Society. It was established in 1953. See also * * ''The Economic Histo ...

'', vol. 25, no. 2, 1977, pp. 108–119. * Jarrett, Michael G. “The Case of the Redundant Official.” ''Britannia'', vol. 9, 1978, pp. 289–292. * Jarrett, Michael G. “Non-Legionary Troops in Roman Britain: Part One, the Units.” ''Britannia'', vol. 25, 1994, pp. 35–77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jarrett, Michael 1934 births 1994 deaths Academics of Cardiff University Alumni of Hatfield College, Durham English archaeologists People educated at Manchester Grammar School English gay men Gay academics Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Deaths from liver failure 20th-century English LGBTQ people English LGBTQ rights activists