Cecil Curle

Cecil Louisa Curle (1901 - 12 April 1987) was a Scottish archaeologist and art historian.

Early Life and Education Born Cecil Louisa Mowbray, she was first educated at home before studying history of art at the Glasgow College of Art, the Courtauld Institute in London, and the Sorbonne in Paris.

Academic and Archaeological Work During her time in France Cecil Curcle worked with Abbé Breuil to explore and record some of the cave paintings at Lascaux. . She was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 1934, after which she excavated at Jarlshof and Wiltrow, as well as at the Ness of Burgi with A.O. Curle, on Shetland. In 1936-1937 she was employed by the Office of Works to supervise excavations at the Brough of Birsay. .

Personal life Cecil married Alexander (Sandy) T. Curle in 1938 - he was the son of the archaeologist A.O. Curle. During the Second World War they briefly moved to Dorset.

Select publications 1936. Mowbray, Cecil L. "Excavation at the Ness of Burgi, Shetland", Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 60 (1935–6), 381–7. 1940. Curle, Cecil L. "The chronology of the Early Christian monuments of Scotland", Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 74 (1939–40), 60–116. 1962. "Some little known Early Christian monuments in the West of Scotland", Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 95 (1961–2), 223–6. 1974. "An engraved lead disc from the Brough at Birsay, Orkney", Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 105 (1972–4), 301–7. 1982. "Pictish and Norse Finds from the Brough of Birsay 1934-74". (Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Monograph Series 1). Edinburgh. 1983. "The finds from the Brough of Birsay 1934-1974", Orkney Heritage, 2 (1983), 67–81.