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2050 After ending his work at Verulamium , Wheeler turned his attention to the late Iron Age hill @-@ fort of Maidan Castle near to Dorchester , Dorset , where he excavated for four seasons from 1934 to 1937 . Co @-@ directed by Wheeler , Tessa , and the Curator of Dorset County Museum , Charles Drew , the project was carried out under the joint auspices of the Society of Antiquaries and the Dorset Field Club . With around 100 assistants each season , the dig constituted the largest excavation that had been conducted in Britain up to that point , with Wheeler organising weekly meetings with the press to inform them about any discoveries . His excavation report was published in 1943 as Maidan Castle , Dorset . The report 's publication allowed further criticism to be voiced of Wheeler 's approach and interpretations ; in his review of the book , the archaeologist W. F. Grimes criticised the highly selective nature of the excavation , noting that Wheeler had not asked questions regarding the socio @-@ economic issues of the community at Maidan Castle , aspects of past societies that had come to be of increasing interest to British archaeology . Over coming decades , as further excavations were carried out at the site and archaeologists developed a greater knowledge of Iron Age Britain , much of Wheeler 's interpretation of the site and its development was shown to be wrong , in particular by the work of the archaeologist Niall Sharples .
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2051 In 1936 , Wheeler embarked on a visit to the Near East , sailing from Marseilles to Port Said , where he visited the Old Kingdom tombs of Sakkara . From there he went via Sinai to Palestine , Lebanon , and Syria . During this trip , he visited various archaeological projects , but was dismayed by the quality of their excavations ; in particular , he noted that the American @-@ run excavation at Tel Megiddo was adopting standards that had been rejected in Britain twenty @-@ five years previously . He was away for six weeks , and upon his return to Europe discovered that his wife Tessa had died of a pulmonary embolism after a minor operation on her toe . According to Tessa 's biographer , for Wheeler this discovery was " the peak of mental misery , and marked the end of his ability to feel a certain kind of love " . That winter , his father also died . By the summer of 1937 , he had embarked on a new romance , with a young woman named Mavis de Vere Cole , who had first met Wheeler when visiting the Maidan Castle excavations with her then @-@ lover , the painter Augustus John . After she eventually agreed to his repeated requests for marriage , the two were wedded early in 1939 in a ceremony held at Caxton Hall , with a reception at Shelley House . They proceeded on a honeymoon to the Middle East .
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2052 After a search that had taken several years , Wheeler was able to secure a premises for the Institute of Archaeology : St. John 's Lodge in Regent 's Park , central London . Left empty since its use as a hospital during the First World War , the building was owned by the Crown and was controlled by the First Commissioner of Works , William Ormsby @-@ Gore ; he was very sympathetic to archaeology , and leased the building to the Institute at a low rent . The St. John 's Lodge premises were officially opened on 29 April 1937 . During his speech at the ceremony , the University of London 's Vice @-@ Chancellor Charles Reed Peers made it clear that the building was only intended as a temporary home for the Institute , which it was hoped would be able to move to Bloomsbury , the city 's academic hub . In his speech , the university 's Chancellor , Alexander Cambridge , 1st Earl of Athlone , compared the new institution to both the Institute of Historical Research and the Courtauld Institute of Art .
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2053 Wheeler had also become President of the Museums Association , and in a presidential address given in Belfast talked on the topic of preserving museum collections in war time , believing that Britain 's involvement in a second European conflict was imminent . In anticipation of this event , in August 1939 he arranged for the London Museum to place many of its most important collections into safe keeping . He was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Bristol University , and at the award ceremony met the Conservative Party politician Winston Churchill , who was then engaged in writing his multi @-@ volume A History of the English @-@ Speaking Peoples ; Churchill asked Wheeler to aid him in writing about late prehistoric and early medieval Britain , to which the latter agreed .
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2054 After Maidan Castle , Wheeler turned his attention to France , where the archaeological investigation of Iron Age sites had lagged behind developments in Britain . There , he oversaw a series of surveys and excavations with the aid of Leslie Scott , beginning with a survey tour of Brittany in the winter of 1936 – 37 . After this , Wheeler decided to excavate the oppidum at Camp d 'Artus , near Huelgoat , Finistère . In addition to bringing many British archaeologists to work on the site , he hired six local Breton workmen to assist the project , coming to the belief that the oppidum had been erected by local Iron Age tribes to defend themselves from the Roman invasion led by Julius Caesar . Meanwhile , Scott had been placed in charge of an excavation at the smaller nearby hill fort of Kercaradec , near Quimper . In July 1939 , the project focused its attention on Normandy , with excavations beginning at the Iron Age hill forts of Camp de Canada and Duclair . They were brought to an abrupt halt in September 1939 as the Second World War broke out in Europe , and the team evacuated back to Britain . Wheeler 's excavation report , co @-@ written with Katherine Richardson , was eventually published as Hill @-@ forts of Northern France in 1957 .
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2055 = = = Second World War : 1939 – 45 = = =
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2056 Wheeler had been expecting and openly hoping for war with Nazi Germany for a year prior to the outbreak of hostilities ; he believed that the United Kingdom 's involvement in the conflict would remedy the shame that he thought had been brought upon the country by its signing of the Munich Agreement in September 1938 . Volunteering for the armed services , he was assigned to assemble the 48th Light Anti @-@ Aircraft Battery at Enfield , where he set about recruiting volunteers , including his son . As the 48th swelled in size , it was converted into the 42nd Mobile Light Anti @-@ Aircraft Regiment in the Royal Artillery , which consisted of four batteries and was led by Wheeler – now promoted to the rank of colonel – as Commanding Officer . Given the nickname of " Flash Alf " by those serving under him , he was recognised by colleagues as a ruthless disciplinarian and was blamed by many for the death of one of his soldiers from influenza during training . Having been appointed secretary of the Society of Antiquaries in 1939 and then director in 1940 , he travelled to London to deal with society affairs on various occasions . In 1941 Wheeler was awarded a Fellowship of the British Academy . Cole had meanwhile entered into an affair with a man named Clive Entwistle , who lambasted Wheeler as " that whiskered baboon " . When Wheeler discovered Entwistle in bed with his wife , he initiated divorce proceedings that were finalised in March 1942 .
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2057 In the summer of 1941 , Wheeler and three of his batteries were assigned to fight against German and Italian forces in the North African Campaign . In September , they set sail from Glasgow aboard the RMS Empress of Russia ; because the Mediterranean was controlled largely by enemy naval forces , they were forced to travel via the Cape of Good Hope , before taking shore leave in Durban . There , Wheeler visited the local kraals to compare them with the settlements of Iron Age Britain . The ship docked in Aden , where Wheeler and his men again took shore leave . They soon reached the British @-@ controlled Suez , where they disembarked and were stationed on the shores of the Great Bitter Lake . There , Wheeler took a brief leave of absence to travel to Jerusalem , where he visited Petrie on his hospital deathbed . Back in Egypt , he gained permission to fly as a front gunner in a Wellington bomber on a bombing raid against Axis forces , to better understand what it was like for aircrew to be fired on by an anti @-@ aircraft battery .
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2058 Serving with the Eighth Army , Wheeler was present in North Africa when the Axis armies pushed the Allies back to El Alamein . He was also part of the Allied counter @-@ push , taking part in the Second Battle of El Alamein and the advance on Axis @-@ held Tripoli . On the way he became concerned that the archaeological sites of North Africa were being threatened both by the fighting and the occupying forces . After the British secured control of Libya , Wheeler visited Tripoli and Leptis Magna , where he found that Roman remains had been damaged and vandalised by British troops ; he brought about reforms to prevent this , lecturing to the troops on the importance of preserving archaeology , making many monuments out @-@ of @-@ bounds , and ensuring that the Royal Air Force changed its plans to construct a radar station in the midst of a Roman settlement . Aware that the British were planning to invade and occupy the Italian island of Sicily , he insisted that measures be introduced to preserve the historic and archaeological monuments on the island .
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2059 Promoted to the rank of brigadier , after the German surrender in North Africa , Wheeler was sent to Algiers where he was part of the staff committee planning the invasion of Italy . There , he learned that the India Office had requested that the army relieve him of his duties to permit him to be appointed Director General of Archaeology in India . Although he had never been to the country , he agreed that he would take the job on the condition that he be permitted to take part in the invasion of Italy first . As intended , Wheeler and his 12th Anti @-@ Aircraft Brigade then took part in the invasion of Sicily and then mainland Italy , where they were ordered to use their anti @-@ aircraft guns to protect the British 10th Corps . As the Allies advanced north through Italy , Wheeler spent time in Naples and then Capri , where he met various aristocrats who had anti @-@ fascist sympathies .
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2060 Wheeler left Italy in November 1943 and returned to London . There , he resigned as the director of the London Museum and focused on organising the Institute of Archaeology , preparing it for its adoption of a new director , V. Gordon Childe , after the war . He also resigned as director of the Society of Antiquaries , but was appointed the group 's representative to the newly formed Council for British Archaeology . He developed a relationship with a woman named Kim Collingridge , and asked her to marry him . As she was a devout Roman Catholic , he officially converted to the religion , something which shocked many of his friends , who believed that he was being dishonest because he did not genuinely believe in the doctrines of the faith . He then set sail for Bombay aboard a transport ship , the City of Exeter , in February 1944 .
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2061 = = = Archaeological Survey of India : 1944 – 48 = = =
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2062 Wheeler arrived in Bombay in the spring of 1944 . There , he was welcomed by the city 's governor , John Colville , before heading by train to Delhi and then Simla , where the headquarters of the Archaeological Survey of India were located . Wheeler had been suggested for the job by Archibald Wavell , the Viceroy of India , who had been acting on the recommendations of the archaeologist Leonard Woolley , who had authored a report lamenting the state of the archaeological establishment in the British @-@ controlled subcontinent . Wheeler recognised this state of affairs , in a letter to a friend complaining about the lack of finances and equipment , commenting that " We 're back in 1850 " . He initially found much to dislike in India , and in his letters to friends in Britain expressed derogatory and racist sentiments toward Indians : he stated that " they feed wrongly and think wrongly and live wrongly ... I already find myself regarding them as ill @-@ made clockwork toys rather than as human beings , and I find myself bullying them most brutally . " He expelled those staff members whom he deemed too idle , and physically beat others in an attempt to motivate them .
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2063 From the beginning of his tenure , he sought to distance himself from previous Director @-@ Generals and their administrations by criticising them in print and attempting to introduce new staff who had no loyalty to his predecessors . Assigned with a four @-@ year contract , Wheeler attempted to recruit two archaeologists from Britain , Glyn Daniel and Stuart Piggott , to aid him in reforming the Archaeological Survey , although they declined the offer . He then toured the subcontinent , seeking to meet all of the Survey 's staff members . He had drawn up a prospectus containing research questions that he wanted the Survey to focus on ; these included understanding the period between the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilization and the Achaemenid Empire , discerning the socio @-@ cultural background to the Vedas , dating the Aryan invasion , and establishing a dating system for southern India prior to the sixth century CE . During his time in office he also achieved a 25 per cent budget increase for the Archaeological Survey , and convinced the government to agree to the construction of a National Museum of Archaeology , to be built in New Delhi .
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2064 In October 1944 , he opened his six @-@ month archaeological field school in Taxila , where he instructed various students from across India in the methodologies of the discipline . Wheeler became very fond of his students , with one of them , B. B. Lal , later commenting that " behind the gruff exterior , Sir Mortimer had a very kind and sympathetic heart " . Throughout his period in India , his students were some of the only individuals to whom Wheeler warmed ; more widely , he was annoyed by what he saw as the idleness , incompetence and corruption of Indian society . Initially focusing on the northwest of the subcontinent , Wheeler was particularly fascinated by the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilization . On his initial inspection of the Indus Valley sites of Mohenjo @-@ daro and Harappa , he organised a very brief excavation which revealed fortifications around both settlements . He later led a more detailed excavation at Harappa , where he exposed further fortifications and established a stratigraphy for the settlement .
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2065 Turning his attention to southern India , Wheeler discovered remnants of a Roman amphora in a museum , and began excavations at Arikamedu , revealing a port from the first century CE which had traded in goods from the Roman Empire . The excavation had been plagued by severe rains and tropical heat , although it was during the excavation that World War II ended ; in celebration , Wheeler gave all his workers an extra rupee for the day . It has since been alleged that while Wheeler took credit for discovering the significance of this site , it had previously been established by A. Aiyappan , the Superintendent of the Government Museum in Madras , and the French archaeologist Jouveau Dubreuil , with Wheeler intentionally ignoring their contribution . He later undertook excavations of six megalithic tombs in Brahmagiri , Mysore , which enabled him to gain a chronology for the archaeology of much of southern India .
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2066 Wheeler established a new archaeological journal , Ancient India , planning for it to be published twice a year . He had trouble securing printing paper and faced various delays ; the first issue was released in January 1946 , and he would release three further volumes during his stay . Wheeler married Kim Collingridge in Simla , before he and his wife took part in an Indian Cultural Mission to Iran . The Indian government had deemed Wheeler ideal to lead the group , which departed via train to Zahidan before visiting Persepolis , Tehran , Isfahan , Shiraz , Pasargadae , and Kashan . Wheeler enjoyed the trip , and was envious of Tehran 's archaeological museum and library , which was far in advance of anything then found in India . Crossing into Iraq , in Baghdad the team caught a flight back to Delhi . In 1946 , he was involved in a second cultural mission , this time to Afghanistan , where he expressed a particular interest in the kingdom of ancient Bactria and visited the archaeology of Balkh .
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2067 Wheeler was present during the 1947 Partition of India into the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India and the accompanying ethnic violence between Hindu and Muslim communities . He was unhappy with how these events had affected the Archaeological Survey , complaining that some of his finest students and staff were now citizens of Pakistan and no longer able to work for him . He was based in New Delhi when the city was rocked by sectarian violence , and attempted to help many of his Muslim staff members escape from the Hindu @-@ majority city unharmed . He further helped smuggle Muslim families out of the city hospital , where they had taken refuge from a violent Hindu mob . As India neared independence from the British Empire , the political situation had changed significantly ; by October 1947 he was one of the last British individuals in a high @-@ up position within the country 's governing establishment , and recognised that many Indian nationalists wanted him to also leave .
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2068 As their relationship had become increasingly strained , his wife had left and returned to Britain . Although hoping to leave his post in India several months early , he was concerned for his economic prospects , and desperately searched for a new job position . Through friends in the British archaeological community , he was offered a job as the Secretary of the Royal Commission on Ancient Monuments for Wales , although he was upset that this would mean a drop in his professional status and income and decided to turn it down . Instead , he agreed to take up a chair in the Archaeology of the Roman Provinces at the Institute of Archaeology . In addition , the Pakistani Minister of Education invited him to become the Archaeological Adviser to the Pakistani government ; he agreed to also take up this position , on the condition that he would only spend several months in the country each year over the next three .
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2069 = = Later life = =
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2070 = = = Between Britain and Pakistan : 1948 – 52 = = =
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2071 Returning to London , Wheeler moved into the Hallam Street flat where his son and daughter @-@ in @-@ law were living . Wheeler and the latter disliked each other , and so in summer 1950 he moved out and began renting an apartment in Mount Street . A year later he moved into his wife 's house in Mallord Street , in an unsuccessful hope of reigniting their relationship . Taking up his part @-@ time professorship at the Institute of Archaeology , he began to lecture to students almost every day . There , he found that he developed a relationship of mutual respect with the director , Childe , despite their strong personal and professional differences . In April 1949 , after the retirement of Cyril Fox , Wheeler was nominated for the Presidency of the Society of Antiquaries , but lost to James Mann ; many archaeologists , including Childe and O. G. S. Crawford , resigned from the Society in protest , deeming Wheeler to have been a far more appropriate candidate for the position . Wheeler was nevertheless elected director of the Society . In 1950 he was awarded the Petrie Medal , and in 1952 was knighted . That same year he was invited to give the Norton lectures for the Archaeological Institute of America , and while in the United States was also awarded the Lucy Wharton Drexel medal at Pennsylvania . He nevertheless disliked the country , and in later life exhibited anti @-@ Americanism .
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2072 Wheeler spent three months in Pakistan during early 1949 , where he was engaged in organising the fledgling Pakistani Archaeological Department with the aid of former members of the Archaeological Survey and new students whom he recruited . The Minister of Education , Fazlur Rahman , was sympathetic to Wheeler 's plans , and the government agreed to establish a National Museum of Pakistan in Karachi , which opened in April 1950 . Wheeler himself was appointed the first President of the Pakistani Museums Association , and found himself as a mediator in the arguments between India and Pakistan over the redistribution of archaeological and historic artefacts following the partition . He also wrote a work of archaeological propaganda for the newly formed state , Five Thousand Years of Pakistan ( 1950 ) .
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2073 To instruct new Pakistani students in the methods of archaeology , in early 1950 Wheeler ran a training excavation at Mohenjo @-@ daro ; there , he was joined by the British student Leslie Alcock , who spoke both Punjabi and Urdu and who was appointed a site supervisor by Wheeler . This excavation proved to be the only one for which Wheeler would not write and publish a full excavation report . Instead , he made reference to its findings in his book The Indus Civilization , published as part of the series The Cambridge History of India . His relationship with the Pakistani government had become strained , and so he declined to return to work for them for a third year .
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2074 Wheeler had been keen to return to excavation in Britain . Based on the one he had organised in India , Wheeler developed an archaeological training course , which he ran at Verulamium in the summer of 1949 to instruct British students in the methodologies of excavation . In summer 1950 , he was invited by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments to direct a trial excavation at Bindon Hill in Dorset . It was a leisurely project which he treated as a seaside holiday . He was invited by the Ancient Monuments Department of the Ministry of Works to excavate the Stanwick Iron Age Fortifications in North Riding , Yorkshire , which he proceeded to do over the summers of 1951 and 1952 . Aided by many old friends and colleagues from within the British archaeological scene , he was joined by Alcock and Alcock 's wife , among others . Wheeler published his report on the site in 1954 .
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2075 In 1949 Wheeler was appointed Honorary Secretary of the British Academy after Frederic G. Kenyon stepped down from the position . According to Piggott , the institution had " unhappily drifted into senility without the excuse of being venerable " , and Wheeler devoted much time attempting to revitalise the organisation and ensured that Charles Webster was appointed President . Together , Wheeler and Webster sought to increase the number of younger members of the Academy , increasing the number of Fellows who were permitted to join and proposing that those over 75 years of age not be permitted to serve on the organisation 's council ; this latter measure was highly controversial , and though defeated in 1951 , Wheeler and Webster were able to push it through in 1952 . In doing so , Piggott stated , Wheeler helped rid the society of its " self @-@ perpetuating gerontocracy " . To aid him in these projects , Wheeler employed a personal assistant , Molly Myers , who remained with him for the rest of his life .
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2076 = = = Popular fame : 1952 – 69 = = =
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2077 In 1956 , Wheeler retired from his part @-@ time professorship at the Institute of Archaeology . Childe was also retiring from his position of director that year , and Wheeler involved himself in the arguments surrounding who should replace him . Wheeler vocally opposed the nomination of W.F. Grimes , deeming his career undistinguished ; instead , he championed Glyn Daniel as a candidate , although ultimately Grimes was selected . That year , Wheeler 's marriage broke down , and he moved from his wife 's house to a former brothel at 27 Whitcomb Street in central London . From 1954 to 1959 , he served as the President of the Society of Antiquaries , and after resigning supported Ian Richmond as his replacement ; however , Joan Evans was selected . From 1964 to 1966 he served as Chairman of the Ancient Monuments Board , stepping down when he concluded that he was too old for the role . In December 1963 , Wheeler underwent a prostate operation that went wrong , and was hospitalised for over a month . In November 1967 , Wheeler became a Companion of Honour , and in 1968 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society .
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2078 = = = = Media fame and public archaeology = = = =
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2079 Wheeler became famous in Britain as " the embodiment of popular archaeology through the medium of television " . In 1952 , Wheeler was invited to be a panelist on the new BBC television series , Animal , Vegetable , Mineral ? . Based on the American quiz programme What in the World ? , the show was hosted by Glyn Daniel and featured three experts in archaeology , anthropology , and natural history being asked to identify artefacts which had been selected from various museums . However , Wheeler is alleged to have prepared for the show by checking beforehand which objects had been temporarily removed from display . The show proved popular with British audiences , and would air for six more years . It brought Wheeler to public attention , resulting in a Television Personality of the Year award for him in 1954 . He also appeared in an episode of Buried Treasure , an archaeology show also hosted by Daniel , in which the pair travelled to Denmark to discuss Tollund Man . In 1957 , he appeared in a second episode of Buried Treasure , for which he travelled to Pakistan to discuss that nation 's archaeology , and in 1958 again appeared in an episode , this time on the site of Great Zimbabwe in Southern Rhodesia . In 1959 he presented his own three @-@ part series on The Grandeur That Was Rome , for which he travelled to Hadrian 's Wall , Pompeii , and Leptis Magna ; the show failed to secure high ratings , and was Wheeler 's last major foray into television . Meanwhile , he also made appearances on BBC radio , initially featuring on the John Irving series The Archaeologist , but later presenting his own eight @-@ part series on Roman Britain and also appearing on the series Asian Club , which was aimed primarily at newly arrived migrants from the Indian subcontinent .
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2080 From 1954 onward , Wheeler began to devote an increasing amount of his time to encouraging greater public interest in archaeology , and it was in that year that he obtained an agent . Oxford University Press also published two of his books in 1954 . The first was a book on archaeological methodologies , Archaeology from the Earth , which was translated into various languages . The second was Rome Beyond the Imperial Frontier , discussing evidence for Roman activity at sites like Arikamedu and Segontium . In 1955 Wheeler released his episodic autobiography , Still Digging , which had sold over 70 @,@ 000 copies by the end of the year . In 1959 , Wheeler wrote Early India and Pakistan , which was published as part as Daniel 's " Ancient Peoples and Places " series for Thames and Hudson ; as with many earlier books , he was criticised for rushing to conclusions .
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2081 He authored the section entitled " Ancient India " for Piggott 's edited volume The Dawn of Civilisation , which was published by Thames and Hudson in 1961 , before writing an introduction for Roger Wood 's photography book Roman Africa in Colour , which was also published by Thames and Hudson . He then agreed to edit a series for the publisher , known as " New Aspects of Antiquity " , through which they released a variety of archaeological works . The rival publisher Weidenfeld & Nicolson had also persuaded Wheeler to work for them , securing him to write many sections of their book , Splendours of the East . They also published his 1968 book Flames Over Persopolis , in which Wheeler discussed Persopolis and the Persian Empire in the year that it was conquered by Alexander the Great .
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2082 In 1954 , the tour company R.K. Swan invited Wheeler to provide lectures on the archaeology of ancient Greece aboard their Hellenic cruise line , which he did in 1955 . In 1957 , he then gave a guided tour of the archaeology of the Indian subcontinent for the rival tour company Fairways and Swinford . After Swans appointed him to the position of chairman of their Hellenic Cruise division , he made two fortnight tours a year , in spring and summer . In late 1969 he conducted the Swans tour to the Indian subcontinent , visiting the south and east of the republic as well as Ceylon . During this period , Wheeler had kept in contact with many of his friends and colleagues in India and Pakistan , helping to secure them work and funding where possible .
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2083 Wheeler had continued his archaeological investigations , and in 1954 led an expedition to the Somme and Pas de Calais where he sought to obtain more information on the French Iron Age to supplement that gathered in the late 1930s . Pakistan 's Ministry of Education invited Wheeler to return to their country in October 1956 . Here , he undertook test excavations at Charsada to determine a chronology of the site . In 1965 , he agreed to take on the position of President of the Camelot Research Committee , which had been established to promote the findings of excavations at Cadbury Castle in Somerset run by his friends Ralegh Radford and Alcock ; the project ended in 1970 . He also agreed to sit as Chairman of the Archaeological Committee overseeing excavations at York Minster , work which occupied him into the 1970s . Wheeler had also continued his work with museums , campaigning for greater state funding for them . While he had become a trustee of the institution in 1963 , he achieved publicity for vocally criticising the British Museum as " a mountainous corpse " , lambasting it as being poorly managed and overcrowded with artefacts . The BBC staged a public debate with the museum director Frank Francis .
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2084 = = = = British Academy and UNESCO = = = =
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2085 As Honorary Secretary of the British Academy , Wheeler focused on increasing the organisation 's revenues , thus enabling it to expand its remit . He developed personal relationships with various employees at the British Treasury , and offered the Academy 's services as an intermediary in dealing with the Egypt Exploration Society , the British School at Athens , the British School at Rome , the British School at Ankara , the British School in Iraq , and the British School at Jerusalem , all of which were then directly funded independently by the Treasury . Accepting this offer , the Treasury agreed to double its funding of the Academy to £ 5 @,@ 000 a year . Approaching various charitable foundations , from 1955 Wheeler also secured funding from both the Pilgrim Trust and the Nuffield Foundation , and in 1957 then secured additional funding from the Rockefeller Foundation .
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2086 With this additional money , the Academy was able to organise a survey of the state of the humanities and social sciences in the United Kingdom , authoring a report that was published by Oxford University Press in 1961 as Research in the Humanities and the Social Sciences . On the basis of this report , Wheeler was able to secure a dramatic rise in funding from the British Treasury ; they increased their annual grant to £ 25 @,@ 000 , and promised that this would increase to £ 50 @,@ 000 shortly after . According to his later biographer Jacquetta Hawkes , in doing so Wheeler raised the position of the Academy to that of " the main source of official patronage for the humanities " within the United Kingdom , while Piggott stated that he set the organisation upon its " modern course " .
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2087 To improve Britain 's cultural influence abroad , Wheeler had been urging the establishment of a British Institute of History and Archaeology in East Africa , touring East Africa itself in August 1955 . In 1956 the Academy requested £ 6 @,@ 000 from the Treasury to fund this new institution , to which they eventually agreed in 1959 . The Institute was initially established in Dar es Salaam in 1961 , although later relocated to Nairobi . Meanwhile , Wheeler had also been campaigning for the establishment of a British Institute of Persian Studies , a project which was supported by the British Embassy in Tehran ; they hoped that it would rival the successful French Institute in the city . In 1960 , the Treasury agreed , with the new institution being housed on the premises of the University of Tehran . He further campaigned for the establishment of a British Institute in Japan , although these ideas were scrapped amid the British financial crisis of 1967 .
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2088 Wheeler retained an active interest in the running of these British institutions abroad ; in 1967 he visited the British School in Jerusalem amid the Six @-@ Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbours , and in January 1968 visited the Persian institute with the archaeologist Max Mallowan and Mallowan 's wife Agatha Christie , there inspecting the excavations at Siraf . In 1969 he proceeded to the Italian city of Rome to inspect the British School there . That year , he resigned as Honorary Secretary of the Academy . The position became a salaried , professional one , with the numismatist Derek Allen taking on the position .
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2089 Recognising his stature within the archaeological establishment , the government appointed Wheeler as the British representative on a UNESCO project to undertake a programme of rescue archaeology in the Nile Valley ahead of the construction of the Aswan Dam , which was going to flood large areas of Egypt and Sudan . Personally securing UK funding for the project , he deemed it an issue of national and personal shame when he was unable to persuade the British government to supply additional funding for the relocation of the Abu Simbel temples . In October 1968 , he took part in a UNESCO visit to Pakistan to assess the state of Mohenjo @-@ daro , writing the project 's report on how the archaeological site could best be preserved . His involvement with UNESCO continued for the rest of his life , and in March 1973 he was invited to the organisation 's conference in Paris .
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2090 = = = Final years : 1970 – 76 = = =
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2091 During his final years , Wheeler remained involved in various activities , for instance sitting on the advisory panel of the Antiquity journal and the Management Committee of the Royal Archaeological Institute . In March 1971 , the archaeologist Barry Cunliffe and a number of his undergraduate students at the University of Southampton organised a conference on the subject of " The Iron Age and its Hillforts " to celebrate Wheeler 's eightieth birthday . Wheeler attended the event , whose conference proceedings were published as a festschrift for the octogenarian . In spring 1973 , Wheeler returned to BBC television for two episodes of the archaeology @-@ themed series Chronicle in which he discussed his life and career . The episodes were well received , and Wheeler became a close friend of the show 's producer , David Collison .
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2092 In the 1970s , Wheeler became increasingly forgetful and came to rely largely on his assistant , Molly Myres , to organise his affairs . Amid increasing ill health , in September 1973 he moved full @-@ time into Myres 's house in Leatherhead , Surrey , although he continued to use his central London flat during day @-@ trips to the city . There , he authored a final book , My Archaeological Mission to India and Pakistan , although much of the text was culled from his previous publications ; it was published by Thames and Hudson in 1976 . After suffering a stroke , Wheeler died at Myers ' home on 22 July 1976 . In memoriam , the British Academy , Royal Academy , and Royal Society flew their flags at half @-@ mast . Wheeler 's funeral was held with military trappings at a local crematorium , while a larger memorial service was held in St James 's Church , Piccadilly in November .
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2093 = = Personal life = =
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2094 Wheeler was known as " Rik " among friends . He divided opinion among those who knew him , with some loving and others despising him , and during his lifetime he was often criticised on both scholarly and moral grounds . The archaeologist Max Mallowan asserted that he " was a delightful , light @-@ hearted and amusing companion , but those close to him knew that he could be a dangerous opponent if threatened with frustration " . His charm offensives were often condemned as being insincere . During excavations , he was known as an authoritarian leader , but favoured those whom he thought exhibited bravery by standing up to his authority . Hence , he has been termed " a benevolent dictator " . He was meticulous in his writings , and would repeatedly revise and rewrite both pieces for publication and personal letters . Throughout his life , he was a heavy smoker .
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2095 Wheeler expressed the view that he was " the least political of mortals " . Despite not taking a strong interest in politics , Wheeler was described by his biographer as " a natural conservative " ; for instance , during his youth he was strongly critical of the Suffragettes and their cause of greater legal rights for women . Nevertheless , he was " usually happy to advance young women professionally " , something that may have been based largely on his sexual attraction toward them . He expressed little interest in his relatives ; in later life he saw no reason to have a social relationship with people purely on the basis of family ties .
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2096 Wheeler was married three times . In May 1914 , Wheeler married Tessa Verney . Tessa became an accomplished archaeologist , and they collaborated until she died in 1936 . Their only child , a son Michael , was born in January 1915 ; he became a barrister . Following Tessa 's death , in 1939 , Wheeler married Mavis de Vere Cole , although their relationship was strained ; Cole 's diaries revealed that Wheeler physically hit her when she annoyed him . In 1945 Mortimer Wheeler married his third wife , Margaret " Kim " Collingridge , although they became estranged in 1956 ; they never divorced as a result of her devout Catholicism . Meanwhile , Wheeler was well known for his conspicuous promiscuity , favouring young women for one night stands , many of whom were his students . He was further known for having casual sex in public places . This behaviour led to much emotional suffering among his various wives and mistresses , of which he was aware . As a result of this behaviour , later archaeologist Gabriel Moshenska informed a reporter from the Daily Mail that Wheeler had developed a reputation as " a bit of a groper and a sex pest and an incredible bully as well " .
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2097 = = Reception and legacy = =
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2098 Wheeler has been termed " the most famous British archaeologist of the twentieth century " by archaeologists Gabriel Moshenska and Tim Schadla @-@ Hall . Highlighting his key role in encouraging interest in archaeology throughout British society , they stated that his " mastery of public archaeology was founded on his keen eye for value and a showman 's willingness to package and sell the past " . This was an issue about which Wheeler felt very strongly ; writing his obituary for the Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society , the English archaeologist Stuart Piggott noted that Wheeler placed " great importance to the archaeologist 's obligation to the public , on whose support the prosecution of his subject ultimately depended . "
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2099 Piggott believed that Wheeler 's greatest impact was as " the great innovator in field techniques " , comparing him in this respect to Pitt @-@ Rivers . Piggott stated that the " importance of Wheeler 's contribution to archaeological technique , enormous and far @-@ reaching , lies in the fact that in the early 1920s he not only appreciated and understood what Pitt @-@ Rivers had done , but saw that his work could be used as a basis for adaptation , development and improvement . " L. C. Carr stated that it was for his methodological developments , oft termed " the Wheeler Method " , that Wheeler was best known ; in this she contrasted him with those archaeologists who were best known for their associations with a specific archaeological site , such as Arthur Evans and Knossos or Leonard Woolley and Ur .