Maud Cunnington

Maud Edith Cunnington , CBE (* September 24, 1869 as Maud Edith Pegge in Briton Ferry , Glamorgan , † February 28, 1951 in Devizes ) was a Welsh archaeologist . She was best known for her exploration of the prehistoric sites of Salisbury Plain , particularly the Woodhenge complex .

life and work

Maud Cunnington was the daughter of Charles Pegge and Catherine Milton Leach. She had six siblings. For a short time she attended Cheltenham Ladies' College . On July 9, 1889, at the age of 19, she married Edward Benjamin Howard Cunnington , known as Ben Cunnington, a journalist and wine merchant. Ben was also honorary curator of the Devizes Museum , which was dedicated to the history and archeology of the county of Wiltshire . The museum was born out of the work of his great-grandfather, William Cunnington , and Ben was the fourth member of the Cunnington family to hold this honorary position. Maud and Ben Cunnington had a son, Edward, who in World War I died.

In 1897 the family moved to Devizes. Maud Cunnington dealt with the classification of local pottery finds and Roman terra sigillata from the excavations in Wiltshire. Between 1909 and 1942 she published numerous articles on it in the Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine . She also documented rescue excavations in the area. At the same time, she and her husband began their own research excavations. They explored from 1908, the first known Neolithic pit work of Knap Hill , Alton Priors . In 1911 and again 1920–1922 they excavated a Hallstatt-era settlement at All Cannings Cross , and three years later a long bed in West Kennet . Their most famous excavation site was Woodhenge , identified by aerial photography in 1926 and excavated under Maud Cunnington's direction over the next three years. They named it after Stonehenge, just a few kilometers away . Maud Cunnington also rediscovered the sanctuary on Overton Hill in 1930 , the location of which had been forgotten since the 18th century. Both this site and Woodhenge bought the Cunningtons and donated the land to the state.

In 1931 Maud Cunnington became the first woman president of the Wiltshire Archaeological Society . During the Second World War , the Cunnington couple had to stop their excavations, but they continued to work at the Devizes Museum, where all their finds were stored. Maud Cunnington worked on a museum catalog published in 1911.

In 1947 Maud Cunnington fell ill with Alzheimer's disease . Ben Cunnington was also seriously ill at the time. He died in late 1950, Maud died three months later. They bequeathed most of their fortune to the Devizes Museum.

Honors

Maud Cunnington has been made an honorary member of the Cambrian Archaeological Association and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland . 1948 awarded King George VI. her the title Commander of the Order of the British Empire . She was the first female archaeologist to receive this honor. Because of her Alzheimer's disease, she was no longer able to experience the ceremony consciously.

Fonts (selection)

• An Introduction to the Archeology of Wiltshire. From the Earliest Times to the Pagan Saxons. With Chapters on Stonehenge, Avebury, Silbury Hill, Woodhenge, Barrows, Earthworks, etc. George Simpson & Co., Devizes 1933.
• Avebury. A Guide to the Circles, the Church, the Manor House, etc., Silbury Hill. CH Woodward, Devizes 1931.
• Woodhenge. A Description of the Site as Revealed by Excavations Carried Out There by Mr. and Mrs. BH Cunnington, 1926-7-8. Also of Four Circles and an Earthwork Enclosure South of Woodhenge. George Simpson & Co., Devizes 1929.
• The Early Iron Age Inhabited Site at Cannings Cross Farm, Wiltshire. A description of the excavations, and objects found, by Mr. and Mrs. BH Cunnington, 1911-1922. George Simpson & Co., Devizes 1923.
• with Edward H. Goddard: Catalog of Antiquities in the Museum of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society at Devizes. Part 2. Published by the Society at the Museum, Devizes 1911, (2nd edition. Ibid 1934).
• On some Fragments of Arretine Ware and Other Pottery, From a Late-Celtic Rubbish Heap at Oare, Wilts. In: Reliquary and illustrated archæologist. NS Vol. 15, 1909, ZDB -ID 1071775-4 , pp. 57-61.

literature

• CT Barker: Ben and Maud Cunnington. The Gower Connection. In: The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine. Vol. 80, 1986, ISSN  0262-6608 , pp. 232-234 .
• RH Cunnington: The Cunningtons of Wiltshire. In: The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine. Vol. 55, No. 200, 1954, pp. 211-236.
• Timothy Darvill: Cunnington, Maud. In: Timothy Darvill: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archeology. 2nd edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford et al. 2008, ISBN 978-0-19-953404-3 .
• Julia Roberts: "That Terrible Woman": the Life, Work and Legacy of Maud Cunnington. In: The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine. Vol. 93, 2002, pp. 46-62 .
• Penelope Rundle: Cunnington, Maud Edith (1869-1951) . In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004.

Web links

• Supplement to the London Gazette of June 10, 1948 with the publication of Maud Cunningham's inclusion in the Order of the British Empire

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Penelope Rundle: Cunnington, Maud Edith (1869–1951) . In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004.
2. ^ Aubrey Burl: Prehistoric Avebury. Yale Univ. Press, New Haven / London 2002, ISBN 978-0-3000-9087-1 , p. 74.
3. ↑ Nikolaus Pevsner: Wiltshire (= Buildings of England. Pevsner Architectural Guides. ). Revised by Bridget Cherry. With notes on the Prehistoric and Roman antiquities by Derek Simpson. Revised by Desmond Bonney. 2nd edition. Yale University Press, 2002, New Haven CT et al. 2002, ISBN 0-300-09659-3 , pp. 62-63.
4. ^ Sara Champion: Women in British Archeology. In: Margarita Díaz-Andreu, Marie Louise Stig Sørensen (Eds.): Excavating Women. A History of Women in European Archeology. Routledge, London 2012, ISBN 978-0-415-51893-2 , pp. 175-197, here p. 177.