Sonia Chadwick Hawkes
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Sonia Chadwick Hawkes (5 November 1933 – 30 May 1999) was a British archaeologist specialising in early
Anglo-Saxon archaeology The archaeology of Anglo-Saxon England is the study of the archaeology of England from the 5th century AD to the 11th century, when it was ruled by Germanic tribes known collectively as the Anglo-Saxons. History and overview The Anglo-Saxon per ...
. She led excavations on Anglo-Saxon cemeteries at Finglesham in Kent and Worthy Park in Hampshire. She was described by fellow medieval archaeologist Paul Ashbee as a "discerning systematiser of the great array of Anglo-Saxon grave furnishings".


Biography


Early life

Born Sonia Elizabeth Chadwick, on 5 November 1933 in
Crayford Crayford is a town and Wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in South London, South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies east of Bexleyheath and north west of Dartford. Crayford was in the Historic countie ...
, she was the only child of Albert Andrew Chadwick and Doris Chadwick (formerly Doris Benger). The ''
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'') ...
'' notes that Albert Andrew Chadwick was an engineer, but gives no information on Doris Chadwick beyond her name. Sonia Chadwick excavated at
Lullingstone Roman Villa Lullingstone Roman Villa is a Roman villa, villa built during the Roman Britain, Roman occupation of Britain, situated in Lullingstone near the village of Eynsford in Kent, south-eastern England. The villa is located in the River Darent, Darent ...
(Kent) as a school girl, and at an early medieval site at Morgan Porth (Cornwall) from 1951 to 1953. The experience at Morgan Porth shaped her later interest in early medieval archaeology. She studied English at Bedford College, University of London, before undertaking postgraduate research supervised by Vera I. Evison.


Career

In 1956 Chadwick began a multi-year excavation at a prehistoric site on Longbridge Deverill Cow Down in Wiltshire. The work was carried out for the Ministry of Works and concluded in 1960. Chadwick contributed to the inaugural volume of ''
Medieval Archaeology ''Medieval Archaeology'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal covering the archaeology of the medieval period, especially in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established in 1957 by the Society for Medieval Archaeology and is publish ...
'' in 1957, published by the recently established
Society for Medieval Archaeology The Society for Medieval Archaeology was founded in 1957. Its purpose was to publish a journal on medieval archaeology and organise conferences and events around the subject. It was the third archaeological society founded with a focus on a particul ...
, editing a posthumous article on the early medieval art of the
Jutes The Jutes ( ) were one of the Germanic people, Germanic tribes who settled in Great Britain after the end of Roman rule in Britain, departure of the Roman Britain, Romans. According to Bede, they were one of the three most powerful Germanic na ...
from Anglo-Saxonist Edward Thurlow Leeds. Chadwick's early research explored the decorated metalwork found in early medieval graves. She produced a study reassessing 1920s finds from the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Finglesham, a prelude to her own excavations there from 1959. The field of Anglo-Saxon archaeology developed significantly in the early 20th century with systematic approaches to data; Hawkes was part of a wave of archaeologists including J. N. L. Myres, Vera Evison, and Audrey Meaney who continued this trend, investigating cemeteries to explore the history of England in the early Middle Ages. In 1958, she was appointed curator of Scunthorpe Museum. The museum took over excavations at an Anglian cemetery in Fonaby, Lincolnshire; Chadwick was responsible for the finds and began indexing them – a project which was built on by Alison M. Cook and the finished product published more than two decades later. Chadwick spoke about the work at Longbridge Deverill at the "Problems relating to the Iron Age in Southern Britain" conference in December that year, organised by the
Council for British Archaeology The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) is an educational charity established in 1944 in the UK. It works to involve people in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and fut ...
at the Institute of Archaeology in Oxford. Chadwick met fellow archaeologist Christopher Hawkes at the conference and they married in January 1959. She left Scunthorpe Museum in 1959 to join the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Oxford, where Christopher lectured, as a research assistant. She remained with the institute, later becoming a
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 ...
, until she retired in 1994. Christopher joined Sonia at Longbridge Deverill for the final season of excavation in 1960, which Paul Ashbee described as a "honeymoon joint enterprise". From 1959 to 1967, Hawkes led excavations at
Finglesham Anglo-Saxon cemetery Finglesham Anglo-Saxon cemetery is a place of burial that was used from the sixth to the eighth centuries CE. It is located adjacent to the village of Finglesham, near Sandwich in Kent, South East England. Belonging to the Anglo-Saxon period, i ...
in Kent. Hawkes was elected a
Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries 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 registered charity. It is based at Burlington House in Pi ...
(FSA) in 1961. Between 1961 and 1962, she also led excavations at an Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Worthy Park in Hampshire. From 1963 to 1971, Hawkes catalogued a collection of finds from the 18th-century antiquarian
Bryan Faussett Bryan Faussett (30 October 1720 – 20 February 1776) was an English antiquary. Faussett formed a collection that was rich in Anglo-Saxon objects of personal adornment, such as pendants, brooches, beads and buckles. He discovered the Kingston B ...
. Hawkes' research focus was on Anglo Saxon cemeteries in Kent. A major piece of work on Late Roman zoomorphic belt fittings, "Soldiers and settlers", prompted much debate. Written in collaboration with Gerald Dunning, the paper was also translated into German. In the 1960s Hawkes began a reassessment of material excavated at Sarre and Bifrons in the 19th century. The results were not published in her lifetime. In 1973 Hawkes was appointed
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 ...
in European archaeology at the University of Oxford. Updown early medieval cemetery in Kent was discovered that year, about a mile from the Finglesham cemetery. Hawkes became interested in the site due to its proximity to Finglesham where she had already worked; she worked with the owners and they commissioned her to conduct a rescue excavation in 1976 ahead of the East Kent Water Board's plans to run a pipeline through the site. The work uncovered 36 graves, but further excavation was curtailed after one of the landowners died, and Hawkes spent time publishing the results of the excavation. The 1970s saw an increasing number of studies in the field of Anglo-Saxon archaeology; in the context of creating new venues for publication of detailed studies, Hawkes supported the foundation of the
British Archaeological Reports The British Archaeological Reports Series contains over 3,500 books of academic archaeological research, including monographs, excavation reports, revised theses and conference proceedings. Founded in 1974, BAR Publishing is one of the world's la ...
book series. She had an advisory editorial role and the first book in the series was written by one of Hawkes' research students, Tania Dickinson. In 1979 she co-founded the publication series ''Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History'' with James Campbell and David Brown, and organised a series of interdisciplinary seminars and conferences in Anglo Saxon studies. The first two volumes of ''Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History'' were published in the
British Archaeological Reports The British Archaeological Reports Series contains over 3,500 books of academic archaeological research, including monographs, excavation reports, revised theses and conference proceedings. Founded in 1974, BAR Publishing is one of the world's la ...
book series. Sonia collaborated with her husband, Christopher Hawkes, as a researcher and they co-edited ''Greeks, Celts and Romans'' and Christopher contributed a section to Sonia's article on the Finglesham Man. Christopher's health began declining in the 1980s, and around this time Sonia and he spent time travelling in Europe. As Christopher's health worsened, Sonia spent more time caring for him and less time on research. After his death in 1992, Sonia "was tireless in ... ordering his books and papers". Hawkes took early retirement in 1994. She married Svetislav Petkovic in May 1995; Petkovic was a retired
factory inspector A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...
. Sonia Petkovic died in Oxford on 30 May 1999, having been diagnosed with cancer.


Reception and legacy

At the time of her death, Hawkes had several unpublished projects, including a full write-up of the excavations at the early medieval cemetery at Finglesham. The Sonia Hawkes Archive, containing notes on unpublished excavations, was established at the University of Oxford.
Helena Hamerow Helena Francisca Hamerow, (born 18 September 1961) is an American archaeologist, best known for her work on the archeology of early medieval communities in Northwestern Europe. She is Professor of Early Medieval archaeology and former head of t ...
, a professor of medieval archaeology and a former student of Hawkes, led a project to digitise the archive with funding from the
Arts and Humanities Research Council The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), formerly Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), is a British research council, established in 1998, supporting research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities. History The Arts a ...
and the Römisch-Germanische Kommission. A number of Hawkes' works were bought to publication posthumously. In December 2001, the Institute of Archaeology dedicated a plaque and a 1937 lithograph by Paul Nash, ''Landscape of the Megaliths'', to the memory of
Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...
and Sonia Hawkes. An edited volume was published in her honour in 2007, edited by Martin Henig and Tyler Jo Smith.


Selected publications

The editors of the 2007 book dedicated to Hawkes noted that there is no comprehensive list of her publications.


Books

* Hawkes, S. C., Grainger, G. (2006). ''The Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Finglesham, Kent''. Oxford: Oxford University School of Archaeology. * Hawkes, S. C., Grainger, G., Biddulph, E., and Dodd, A. (2003). ''The Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Worthy Park, Kingsworthy, Hampshire''. Oxford: Oxbow. * Hawkes, S. C. (2000). The Anglo-Saxon cemetery of Bifrons, in the parish of Patrixbourne, East Kent. ''Anglo-Saxon Stud Archaeol Hist'' 11'':'' 1–94. * Hawkes, S. C. (ed.) (1989). ''Weapons and Warfare in Anglo-Saxon England''. Oxford: Oxford University Committee for Archaeology. * Hawkes, C. F. C. and Hawkes, S. C. (eds.) (1973). ''Greeks, Celts and Romans.'' London: Dent.


Articles

* Hawkes, S. C. (1974). The Monkton Brooch. ''The Antiquaries Journal'' 54(2): 245–256. * Hawkes, S. C. (1969). "Finds from two Middle Bronze Age pits at Winnall, Winchester, Hampshire." Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society 26: 5–18. * Hawkes, S. C. and Page, R. I. (1967). Swords and runes in south-east England. ''The Antiquaries Journal'' 47 (1): 1–26. * Hawkes, S. C.; Dunning, G. C. (1961)
"Soldiers and Settlers in Britain, Fourth to Fifth Century: With a Catalogue of Animal-Ornamented Buckles and Related Belt-Fittings"
''Medieval Archaeology'', 5: 1–70, *


See also

*


References


Footnotes


Bibliography

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External links


Material from The Novum Inventorium Sepulchrale
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkes, Sonia Chadwick 1933 births 1999 deaths Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London English women archaeologists 20th-century English archaeologists Alumni of Bedford College, London Anglo-Saxon archaeologists