Rupert Bruce-Mitford
Encyclopedia
Rupert Leo Scott Bruce-Mitford (surname sometimes: "Mitford") (1914 in Streatham
(London), UK – 1994 in Oxford
) was a British archaeologist best known for his multi-volume publication on the Sutton Hoo
ship burial.
Bruce-Mitford worked for the British Museum
, London, in the Department of British and Mediaeval Antiquities from 1938, and, following the bequest of the Sutton Hoo Treasure to the nation in 1942, he was charged with leading the project to study and publish the finds. This he did through four decades at the British Museum. He also became President of the Society of Antiquaries of London
.
Apart from military service in World War II he worked at the British Museum continuously until 1977, including two keeperships, and finally as a research keeper.
Streatham
Streatham is a district in Surrey, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
(London), UK – 1994 in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
) was a British archaeologist best known for his multi-volume publication on the Sutton Hoo
Sutton Hoo
Sutton Hoo, near to Woodbridge, in the English county of Suffolk, is the site of two 6th and early 7th century cemeteries. One contained an undisturbed ship burial including a wealth of Anglo-Saxon artefacts of outstanding art-historical and archaeological significance, now held in the British...
ship burial.
Bruce-Mitford worked for the British Museum
British 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...
, London, in the Department of British and Mediaeval Antiquities from 1938, and, following the bequest of the Sutton Hoo Treasure to the nation in 1942, he was charged with leading the project to study and publish the finds. This he did through four decades at the British Museum. He also became President of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
.
Apart from military service in World War II he worked at the British Museum continuously until 1977, including two keeperships, and finally as a research keeper.
Personal life
He was married three times and had three children by his first wife, Kathleen Dent.Major works
- 2005: The Corpus of Late Celtic Hanging-Bowls (posthumous; ed. Sheila Raven)
- 1975: The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial (with A. C. Evans)
- The Bog People: Iron Age man preserved
- 1997: Mawgan Porth; a settlement of the Late Saxon Period on the north Cornish coast: excavations 1949-52, 1954 and 1974 London: English Heritage ISBN 1850746133 (posthumous)
- Aspects of Anglo-Saxon Archaeology: Sutton Hoo and other discoveries ISBN 057501704x