Bournemouth University colleagues pay tribute to Professor Timothy Darvill

Bournemouth University announced the death of an archaeology professor who passed away from cancer

3 weeks ago

Timothy Darvill, an archaeology professor at Bournemouth University for 30 years, sadly passed away from cancer on Saturday 5th October 2024.

Cotswold Archaeology described the 66-year-old professor as “one of the foremost archaeologists and prehistorians of his generation with a prodigious work ethic”.

The Daily Echo reports that Timothy was internationally known for his association with Stonehenge, where he directed the first excavation within the stones for forty years.

Timothy held many prestigious positions and was the Chairman of the Institute of Field Archaeologists (now the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists), Chairman of the board of directors of Cotswold Archaeology, vice president of the Society of Antiquaries of London, vice president of the Royal Archaeological Institute and a Member of the Council of the National Trust.

A tribute written by colleagues Dr Derek Pitman and Dr Miles Russell at Bournemouth University reads: “Tim was one of the foremost prehistorians of his generation.

“In 1991, aged 33, he was appointed professor at Bournemouth Polytechnic and, as head of archaeology, then the only scientific programme taught at the Polytechnic, Tim played a pivotal role in helping develop university status.

“Externally, he made significant and lasting contributions to our discipline, publishing over twenty books, including the seminal text ‘Prehistoric Britain’, and over 200 academic papers and articles.

“He will be remembered as a leading scholar, both in the UK and globally, being an archaeologist of international renown.

“He organised countless conferences and directed many excavations across Britain, most notably at Stonehenge, as well as fieldwork in the Isle of Man, Malta, Russia, Germany and the USA.

The university also spoke about how Timothy was appointed OBE in the 2010 Queen’s Birthday Honours, and that he was “a passionate advocate” for both archaeology and anthropology at Bournemouth Uni.