Ian Archibald Richmond

Sir Ian Archibald Richmond , CBE , FBA , FSA (born May 10, 1902 in Rochdale , † October 5, 1965 in Oxford ) was a British classical and Roman provincial archaeologist .

life and work

Ian Richmond visited Ruthin School and studied from 1920 to 1924 at Corpus Christi College of the University of Oxford Archeology , Philology and Ancient History . As a student he published his first scientific studies (including on the geography of Ptolemy ). From 1924 to 1926 he stayed on a scholarship at the British School at Rome , where he laid the foundation for his studies of Roman archeology and topography. From 1926 he was lecturer in Classical Archeology at Queen's University Belfast . During this time he deepened his studies of Roman history of Britain by with Eric Birley , Robin George Collingwood and Frank Gerald Simpson to Hadrian's Wall explored. In 1930 Richmond was appointed director of the British School at Rome, but he had to give up this post in 1932 for health reasons. He stayed in Rome and used the time of his recovery to continue his studies on Hadrian's Wall and for the posthumous publication of Thomas Ashby's work on the aqueducts in Rome (published 1935).

In January 1935 Richmond went as a lecturer in Roman-British history and archeology at the Armstrong College of the University of Durham , which is located in Newcastle upon Tyne was. There he married the merchant's daughter Isabel Little in 1938, with whom he had a son and a daughter. Richmond stayed in Newcastle for over twenty years, interrupted only by his brief assignment during World War II and by guest lectures in Edinburgh, Cambridge and Oxford. In 1943 he was appointed reader, in 1950 (personal) professor. During this time he also served as a public orator and for two years as dean of the Faculty of Arts. In 1956, Richmond accepted a call to the University of Oxford , where he took the newly established chair of the archeology of the Roman Empire at All Souls College . He continued to hold various honorary positions: from 1958 to 1961 he was President of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies , from 1959 to 1964 Director, and then until his death President of the Society of Antiquaries of London .

Richmond received numerous awards for his academic achievements: in 1958 he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire and in 1964 he was knighted. He was an honorary doctor of the universities in Belfast, Cambridge , Edinburgh , Leeds , Manchester and Newcastle (Durham) and a member of the British Academy (from 1947) and the German Archaeological Institute (from 1933).

Fonts (selection)

• The City Wall of Imperial Rome . Oxford 1930
• Roman Britain . London 1947
• Archeology and the after-Life in Pagan and Christian Imagery . New York 1950
• The Pelican History of England. Vol. 1: Roman Britain . London 1955. New edition 1963
• Peter Salway (Ed.): Roman Archeology and Art. Essays and Studies by Sir Ian Richmond . London 1969

Editing

• Thomas Ashby: The Aqueducts of Ancient Rome . Oxford 1935
• John Collingwood Bruce : Handbook to the Roman Wall . 10th edition, Newcastle 1947. 11th edition, Newcastle 1957. 12th edition, Newcastle 1966
• Robin George Collingwood: The Archeology of Roman Britain . Second, revised edition, London 1968

literature

• Eric Birley : Sir Ian Archibald Richmond, 1902-1965 . In: Proceedings of the British Academy . Volume 52, 1966, pp. 293-302.