Gale Sieveking
Encyclopedia
Gale de Giberne Sieveking (August 26, 1925 - June 2, 2007) was a prehistoric archaeologist, best known for his work on flint
and flint mines, particularly at sites such as Grimes Graves
. He "played... an important part in the development of archaeology as a discipline" and particularly in the understanding of the prehistoric period. He was the son of BBC
-pioneer Lancelot "Lance" De Giberne Sieveking
, and half-brother to Fortean
-writer Paul Sieveking
.
in the Alpes Maritimes, France.
Although technically entitled, aged 17, "to choose between French and British nationality" due to his birthplace, in 1942 he had little choice "and, with certain regrets... relinquished his French nationality."
After leaving school, Sieveking "joined the Fleet Air Arm
" training and positioned in places such as Canada, Colombo and Malta. He attended King's College
, Cambridge
, and as an ex-serviceman was financed by the post-war
government for two years out of the three-year course. He read History, but was soon "captivated by archaeology and in his final year he studied prehistory."
He was a PhD student under Grahame Clark (learning "prehistory on Clark's excavations at Star Carr
in the early 1950s"), but "left this [his PhD] unfinished" when in 1952, he married Ann Paull (b. 1931), the daughter of Vivian Hearle Paull and Rachel Alice Merz, and "was in need of an income." He was "offered a post as Deputy Director of Museums in Malaya" and accepted in 1953.
, Seremban
and Kuala Kangsa." He carried out excavations in Malaysia throughout the 1950s, excavating sites from all periods, including "a seventeenth-century Portuguese fort in Johore Lama", "an early Indian trading post in the mangrove swamps near Taiping" and "an exceptional buried hoard of Ming
porcelain
," also in Johore which included "several bowls of imperial quality."
Most notable was the excavations at Gua Cha "a habitation site in a rock shelter on the Nengiri river in Kelantanin"/Kelantan
. Gua Cha was initially located in 1935 by H. D. Noon, who had died during the war, with Sieveking then undertaking "the first systematic excavation of Gua Cha" (with Michael Tweedie
of the Raffles Museum, Singapore). The dig uncovered "a slaughtering station for wild boar," "over 30 [human] remains... buried in two distinct time frames, the Hoabinhian
[or Mesolithic
] and the Neolithic
," "the latter with jadeite bracelets, polished stone axes and pottery bowls containing a supply of small animals, presumably for sustenance in the next world." The dig was carried out under "military escort" as the local peoples were "suspected of supporting the insurgents with food and intelligence."
, becoming Deputy Keeper in the Department of Prehistoric and Romano-British
Antiquities
. Catherine Johns, writing in Salon says that during "the 1950s, he [Sieveking], Peter Lasko and David Wilson
were great friends as young Assistant Keepers in the British and Medieval Department."
His "first research project was an analysis of Grand Pressigny flint
", a "honey-coloured stone" found in France and traded in the Neolithic period, unusual for "being identifiable by its colour." Sieveking helped establish that all flint could be "identified by their trace elements," allowing the mapping of "the distribution of flints from different mines." He "dug at High Lodge, near Mildenhall
, in Suffolk
," a confusing site which caused geologist
s and archaeologists some vexation as "the chronological order of the flint tools discovered in the gravel and brickearth deposits apparently contradicts the geological succession."
In 1965-66, Sieveking joined Michael Kerney "for an expedition to Thailand" partly intended "to locate sites in the limestone
massifs in the country's north and north-eastern provinces with Palaeolithic and earlier remains, sealed by stalagmite
deposits, and thus datable using protactinium-thorium-uranium isotopic
methods."
Sieveking also "dug further early sites, in the Thames valley
at Ebbsfleet
and Northfleet
and at Creffield Road, Acton
, and then, with a change in date, he reopened the Neolithic flint mines at Grimes Graves
, in Norfolk
."
Between 1972 and 1976, Sieveking and Ian Longworth joined forces "to re-examine the important Neolithic flint mines at Grimes Graves, Norfolk." Longworth focused "on the rich Bronze Age
deposits," while Sieveking looked at "the so-called "primitive" pits of the west fields, the flaking floor workshops in between them and the deep mines," utilising the British Museum Laboratory to help with "challenging projects" and unanswered questions.
The re-examination of Brandon, Norfolk mines underscored Sieveking's recognition of "the need for archaeological investigations to become more scientific and multidisciplinary." He sought the help of (among others) Professor Rory Mortimore (an engineering geologist
), as well as the Dutch
"Felder brothers" who had "expertise as traditional pick-and-shovel coal miners" and "experience in opening the Rijckholt St Geertruid Neolithic Flint Mines near Maastricht
in Limburg
."
He "had many interests: music
, painting
, buildings
[and] travelling abroad – particularly in France." He finally retired from his role as Deputy Keeper at the British Museum in 1985, and died in Suffolk
aged 81 on June 2, 2007.
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
and flint mines, particularly at sites such as Grimes Graves
Grimes Graves
Grime's Graves is a large Neolithic flint mining complex near Brandon in England close to the border between Norfolk and Suffolk. It was worked between around circa 3000 BC and circa 1900 BC, although production may have continued well into the Bronze and Iron Ages owing to the low cost of flint...
. He "played... an important part in the development of archaeology as a discipline" and particularly in the understanding of the prehistoric period. He was the son of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
-pioneer Lancelot "Lance" De Giberne Sieveking
Lance Sieveking
Lance Sieveking was an English writer and pioneer BBC radio and television producer. He was married three times, and was father to archaeologist Gale Sieveking and Fortean-writer Paul Sieveking .-Biography:...
, and half-brother to Fortean
Fortean Times
Fortean Times is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. Previously published by John Brown Publishing and then I Feel Good Publishing , it is now published by Dennis Publishing Ltd. As of December 2010, its circulation was approximately 18,000...
-writer Paul Sieveking
Paul Sieveking
Paul R.A. De Giberne Sieveking is a British journalist and former magazine editor.Until 2002, Sieveking was co-editor of the magazine The Fortean Times with its founder Bob Rickard. He joined the UK-based "Journal of the Unexplained" in 1978...
.
Biography
Gale de Giberne Sieveking was born on August 26, 1925 in Cagnes-sur-MerCagnes-sur-Mer
Cagnes-sur-Mer is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-Geography:It is the largest suburb of the city of Nice and lies to the west-southwest of it, about from the center.-History:...
in the Alpes Maritimes, France.
Although technically entitled, aged 17, "to choose between French and British nationality" due to his birthplace, in 1942 he had little choice "and, with certain regrets... relinquished his French nationality."
After leaving school, Sieveking "joined the Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
" training and positioned in places such as Canada, Colombo and Malta. He attended King's College
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, and as an ex-serviceman was financed by the post-war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
government for two years out of the three-year course. He read History, but was soon "captivated by archaeology and in his final year he studied prehistory."
He was a PhD student under Grahame Clark (learning "prehistory on Clark's excavations at Star Carr
Star Carr
Star Carr is a Mesolithic archaeological site in North Yorkshire, England. It is around five miles south of Scarborough.It is generally regarded as the most important and informative Mesolithic site in Great Britain...
in the early 1950s"), but "left this [his PhD] unfinished" when in 1952, he married Ann Paull (b. 1931), the daughter of Vivian Hearle Paull and Rachel Alice Merz, and "was in need of an income." He was "offered a post as Deputy Director of Museums in Malaya" and accepted in 1953.
Malaya
Taking up his post in 1953, and despite finding that "[o]pportunities for travelling and exploring were limited" under the then-"state of emergency" declared five years previously "by the British colonial government... as a response to Communist insurgency" he managed to open three regional "museums in MalaccaMalacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
, Seremban
Seremban
Seremban is the capital of the Malaysian state of Negeri Sembilan, located within the district of Seremban, one of the seven districts of Negeri Sembilan. The town's administration is run by the Seremban Municipal Council or Majlis Perbandaran Seremban...
and Kuala Kangsa." He carried out excavations in Malaysia throughout the 1950s, excavating sites from all periods, including "a seventeenth-century Portuguese fort in Johore Lama", "an early Indian trading post in the mangrove swamps near Taiping" and "an exceptional buried hoard of Ming
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
," also in Johore which included "several bowls of imperial quality."
Most notable was the excavations at Gua Cha "a habitation site in a rock shelter on the Nengiri river in Kelantanin"/Kelantan
Kelantan
Kelantan is a state of Malaysia. The capital and royal seat is Kota Bharu. The Arabic honorific of the state is Darul Naim, ....
. Gua Cha was initially located in 1935 by H. D. Noon, who had died during the war, with Sieveking then undertaking "the first systematic excavation of Gua Cha" (with Michael Tweedie
Michael Tweedie
Michael Wilmer Forbes Tweedie was a naturalist and archaeologist working in South East Asia, who was Director of the Raffles Museum in Singapore....
of the Raffles Museum, Singapore). The dig uncovered "a slaughtering station for wild boar," "over 30 [human] remains... buried in two distinct time frames, the Hoabinhian
Hoabinhian
The term Hoabinhian was first used by French archaeologists working in Northern Vietnam to describe Holocene period archaeological assemblages excavated from rock shelters. It has become a common term in the English based literature to describe stone artifact assemblages in Southeast Asia that...
[or Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
] and the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
," "the latter with jadeite bracelets, polished stone axes and pottery bowls containing a supply of small animals, presumably for sustenance in the next world." The dig was carried out under "military escort" as the local peoples were "suspected of supporting the insurgents with food and intelligence."
British Museum
Having spent three years in Malaya, the Sievekings (and two children) returned to England in 1956, where Gale joined the staff of the British MuseumBritish Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, becoming Deputy Keeper in the Department of Prehistoric and Romano-British
Romano-British
Romano-British culture describes the culture that arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest of AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a people of Celtic language and...
Antiquities
Antiquities
Antiquities, nearly always used in the plural in this sense, is a term for objects from Antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures...
. Catherine Johns, writing in Salon says that during "the 1950s, he [Sieveking], Peter Lasko and David Wilson
David M. Wilson
Sir David Mackenzie Wilson, Kt is a British archaeologist, art historian, and museum curator, specialising in Anglo-Saxon art and the Viking Age. He lives on the Isle of Man....
were great friends as young Assistant Keepers in the British and Medieval Department."
His "first research project was an analysis of Grand Pressigny flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
", a "honey-coloured stone" found in France and traded in the Neolithic period, unusual for "being identifiable by its colour." Sieveking helped establish that all flint could be "identified by their trace elements," allowing the mapping of "the distribution of flints from different mines." He "dug at High Lodge, near Mildenhall
Mildenhall, Suffolk
Mildenhall is a small market town and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is run by Forest Heath District Council and has a population of 9,906 people. The town is near the A11 and is located north-west of county town, Ipswich. The large Royal Air Force base, RAF Mildenhall as well as RAF...
, in Suffolk
West Suffolk
West Suffolk was an administrative county of England created in 1889 from part of the county of Suffolk. It survived until 1974 when it was rejoined with East Suffolk. Its county town was Bury St Edmunds....
," a confusing site which caused geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
s and archaeologists some vexation as "the chronological order of the flint tools discovered in the gravel and brickearth deposits apparently contradicts the geological succession."
In 1965-66, Sieveking joined Michael Kerney "for an expedition to Thailand" partly intended "to locate sites in the limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
massifs in the country's north and north-eastern provinces with Palaeolithic and earlier remains, sealed by stalagmite
Stalagmite
A stalagmite is a type of speleothem that rises from the floor of a limestone cave due to the dripping of mineralized solutions and the deposition of calcium carbonate. This stalagmite formation occurs only under certain pH conditions within the underground cavern. The corresponding formation on...
deposits, and thus datable using protactinium-thorium-uranium isotopic
Isotopes of protactinium
Protactinium has no stable isotopes. There are three naturally occurring isotopes, allowing a standard mass to be given.Standard atomic mass: 231.03588 u...
methods."
Sieveking also "dug further early sites, in the Thames valley
Thames Valley
The Thames Valley Region is a loose term for the English counties and towns roughly following the course of the River Thames as it flows from Oxfordshire in the west to London in the east. It includes parts of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, North Hampshire, Surrey and west London...
at Ebbsfleet
Ebbsfleet Valley
Ebbsfleet Valley is a new town and redevelopment area in Kent, South East England; and part of the Thames Gateway. It is located south west of Gravesend.It is named after the valley of the Ebbsfleet River, which it straddles...
and Northfleet
Northfleet
Northfleet is a town in the Borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. Its name is derived from North creek , and the settlement on the shore of the River Thames adjacent to Gravesend was known as Norfluet in the Domesday Book, and Northflet in 1201...
and at Creffield Road, Acton
Acton, London
Acton is a district of west London, England, located in the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross.At the time of the 2001 census, Acton, comprising the wards of East Acton, Acton Central, South Acton and Southfield, had a population of 53,689 people...
, and then, with a change in date, he reopened the Neolithic flint mines at Grimes Graves
Grimes Graves
Grime's Graves is a large Neolithic flint mining complex near Brandon in England close to the border between Norfolk and Suffolk. It was worked between around circa 3000 BC and circa 1900 BC, although production may have continued well into the Bronze and Iron Ages owing to the low cost of flint...
, in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
."
Between 1972 and 1976, Sieveking and Ian Longworth joined forces "to re-examine the important Neolithic flint mines at Grimes Graves, Norfolk." Longworth focused "on the rich Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
deposits," while Sieveking looked at "the so-called "primitive" pits of the west fields, the flaking floor workshops in between them and the deep mines," utilising the British Museum Laboratory to help with "challenging projects" and unanswered questions.
The re-examination of Brandon, Norfolk mines underscored Sieveking's recognition of "the need for archaeological investigations to become more scientific and multidisciplinary." He sought the help of (among others) Professor Rory Mortimore (an engineering geologist
Engineering geologist
An engineering geologist is a geologist trained in the discipline of engineering geology. Many organizations and governments have programs for the qualification, testing and certification of engineering geologists as a protection to the public....
), as well as the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
"Felder brothers" who had "expertise as traditional pick-and-shovel coal miners" and "experience in opening the Rijckholt St Geertruid Neolithic Flint Mines near Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
in Limburg
Limburg (Netherlands)
Limburg is the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and bordered by the province of Gelderland to the north, Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and part of the west, andthe Dutch province of North Brabant partly to...
."
He "had many interests: music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, buildings
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
[and] travelling abroad – particularly in France." He finally retired from his role as Deputy Keeper at the British Museum in 1985, and died in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
aged 81 on June 2, 2007.
Legacy
Selected bibliography
- The caves of France and northern Spain: a guide (with Ann Sieveking, his wife) (1962)
- Flint implements: an account of Stone Age techniques and cultures (3rd ed. 1968)
- Problems in economic and social archaeology (editor, with I. H. Longworth and K. E. Wilson (ed.s)) (1976)
- The scientific study of flint and chert: proceedings of the Fourth International Flint Symposium (editor with M.B. Hart (ed.)) (1986)