Tessa Wheeler

Tessa Wheeler ( Verney; 27 March 1893 – 15 April 1936) was a South Africa-born English archaeologist who made significant contributions to techniques used in archaeological excavation and contributed to the setting up of major British archaeological institutions after the Second World War.

Owing to the gender politics of the era, she remains best known as the wife and professional partner of Mortimer Wheeler. They collaborated on major excavations in Wales and England (including Segontium, Caerleon, and Verulamium) and their investigation of Maiden Castle, Dorset had been ongoing for two years when she died unexpectedly from complications following a minor operation.

Early and private life Tessa Verney was born in Johannesburg, the daughter of John Verney, a doctor, and Annie Booth Kilburn. She had an elder half-brother from her mother's first marriage. The family moved to Lewisham, south London, with her mother's third husband. She was educated at Addey and Stanhope School in Deptford, They undertook excavations together at Segontium in 1921–22 and at Gaer in 1924–25, working as a team. Tessa organised the excavations, controlled finances, and recorded the finds, and Mortimer interpreted the results. were significant advances in archaeological method, although later superseded. They were influenced greatly by the work of the archaeologist Lieutenant General Augustus Pitt Rivers (1827–1900). The two constant themes in their attempts to improve archaeological excavation were, first, to maintain strict stratigraphic control while excavating (for this purpose, the baulks between trenches served to retain a record of the strata that had been dug through), and, second, to publish the excavation promptly and in a form that would tell the story of the site to the intelligent reader. They also published their results quickly after the excavations concluded, and Mortimer proved adept at generating favourable publicity.

She became a lecturer at the London Museum in 1928, and became the second woman to be elected as a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries the same year. At Maiden Castle, the Wheelers collaborated with Beatrice de Cardi and Veronica Seton-Williams. The work from Caerleon, Lydney, and St Albans were published under their joint names. but later work was published under their joint names and their contemporaries considered "the Wheelers" to be a team; some considered her to be the more talented field archaeologist.

Legacy A black marble memorial plaque to Tessa Wheeler was unveiled at the Institute of Archaeology in 1937. A biography was published by Lydia Carr in 2012.

Publications Wheeler, T. 1928. The Caerleon Amphitheatre: a Summary. London: Bedford Press. Wheeler, R. E. M. & T. Verney Wheeler. 1928. "The Roman amphitheatre at Caerleon, Monmouthshire", Archaeologia, vol. 78. Oxford: The Society of Antiquaries. — 1932. Report on the Excavation of the Prehistoric, Roman, and Post-Roman site in Lydney Park, Gloucestershire (Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London 9). Oxford: The Society of Antiquaries. — 1936. Verulamium: a Belgic and two Roman cities (Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London 11). Oxford: The Society of Antiquaries.