Tessa Wheeler

Tessa Wheeler (* as Tessa Verney 1893 in Johannesburg , † April 15, 1936 in London ) was a British archaeologist .

biography

Tessa Verney married the archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler in 1914 . A year later their son Michael was born. After her husband had served in World War I and was appointed director of the National Museum of Wales in 1920 , she followed him and supported him in all matters. At first they both camped on camp beds in the museum. The marriage began to run into turmoil early on, which was not least due to her husband's various infidelities. Tessa didn't want to have these things true or at least ignore them and buried herself deeper and deeper in her work. Mortimer Wheeler benefited in many ways from his wife's empathy for his work, which in turn quickly made her more than just an assistant. During excavations in Segontium , among other things, she processed the find statistics. In the Welsh press, since they appeared to be inseparable, both were referred to only as the Wheelers . In 1926 Mortimer moved to the Museum of London and the family followed him. The excavation in Caerleon that had actually been taken over was now carried out by Tessa in his place. During this time, the idea of ​​an Institute of Archeology occurred to both of them . All plans, including personnel issues, were quickly clear. But it took another ten years before they were implemented in reality. In 1936 Tessa Wheeler died in an operation that was actually unnecessary and harmless. Her husband, who was traveling through Palestine and Egypt with a woman, learned of his wife's death on his return from the newspaper. The Institute of Archeology started work a year after her death.

While Mortimer Wheeler became an early press favorite and was often prevented from digging, Tessa Wheeler carried out these digs. In doing so, she relied on the excavation methods of Augustus Pitt Rivers, which were already several decades old but still very progressive and almost forgotten . This method of excavation, which was based on accurate records, was further developed by the Wheelers. It later became known as the Wheeler- Kenyon method .

literature

• Andrea Rottloff : Archaeologists. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2009, ISBN 978-3-8053-4063-2 ( The Famous ), pp. 180-185.