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Edith Wightman

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Edith Mary Wightman
FSA
Born1 January 1938
Scotland
Died17 December 1983(1983-12-17) (aged 45)
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Archaeologist, ancient historian

Edith Mary Wightman FSA (1 January 1938 – 17 December 1983) was a British ancient historian and archaeologist. She was Assistant-Professor and then Professor at McMaster University (1969–1983). Wightman was best known for her studies Roman Trier and Gallia Belgica.

Biography

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Edith Mary Wightman was born on 1 January 1938 in Scotland, the daughter of R. J. and Edith W. Wightman.[1] She undertook undergraduate studies at the University of St Andrews, receiving her MA in 1960.[2] Next, she studied in Oxford with Ian Richmond and C.E. Stevens, receiving a diploma in Classical Archaeology in 1962, and a DPhil in 1968.[2] Her dissertation on Roman Trier and the Treveri was published as a monograph in 1970.[2] Wightman lectured at the University of Leicester from 1965 to 1969,[2] before joining the Department of History at McMaster University in 1969,[3] replacing her predecessor Edward Togo Salmon as Professor of Ancient History.[2]

Wightman undertook archaeological fieldwork in the Mediterranean as part of three projects; at Monte Irsi under the direction of Alaster Small,[3][4] as co-director of the Second Canadian Team excavations at Carthage alongside Colin Wells,[5] and as the director of the multidisciplinary field survey project in the Liri Valley, Italy.[6]

Wightman's work has been described as a "model of how to combine literary, epigraphic, and archaeological data with caution and imagination[7] Research for Gallia Belgica involved annual research visits to archaeological institutes in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands.[8] Her posthumously published survey of Gallia Belgica has been described as "magisterial",[9] and John Percival stated that "it is hard to think of a better study of an individual Roman province in terms of comprehensiveness and reliability".[10] Underlying her work was a "concern for the Roman countryside and its population".[3] She was noted for her skill as a researcher and as a teacher,[3] and as "a much loved and respected scholar".[10]

Death

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Wightman was murdered on 17 December 1983 in her office at McMaster University.[1][2] She was found lying on the floor with her eyes and mouth bound with surgical tape and her hands handcuffed behind her back.[11] According to the police, credit cards were missing and robbery was probably the motive for the killing.[11] A 27-year-old chemist was charged with the murder some weeks later.[12]

Honours

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Wightman was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1973, a foreign associate member of the Société des Antiquaires de France in 1976, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1982.[2]

Works

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  • Wightman, E. 1970. Roman Trier and the Treveri. Oxford
  • Wightman, E.M. 1974. La Gaule chevelue entre César et Auguste. In Actes du IXeme Congres International d'études sur les Frontières Romaines, Mamaïa, 6-13 septembre 1972.
  • Wightman, E.M. 1975. The pattern of rural settlement in Roman Gaul. ANRW 2.4: 584-657
  • Wightman, E.M. 1977. Military arrangements, native settlements and related developments in early Roman Gaul. Helinium 17, 105–126.
  • Wightman, E. 1978. Peasants and potentates: an investigation of social structure and land tenure in Roman Gaul. American Journal of Ancient History 3.
  • Wightman, E. 1980. The plan of Roman Carthage, in New Light on Ancient Carthage (Ann Arbor, 1980), 29-46
  • Wightman, E. 1981. The lower Liri valley: problems, trends and peculiaritiies. In G. Barker and R. Hodges (eds.) Archaeology and Italian Society. Prehistoric, Roman and Medieval Studies. Oxford: BAR International Series 102.
  • Wightman, E. 1985. Gallia Belgica. London: B. T. Batsford
  • Wightman, E.M. 1994a The Iron Age. In J.W. Hayes and I.P. Martini (eds.) Archaeological survey in the Lower Liri Valley, Central Italy (BAR International Series 595). Oxford, Tempus Reparatum. 13–17.
  • Wightman, E.M. 1994b Communications. In J.W. Hayes and I.P. Martini (eds.) Archaeological survey in the Lower Liri Valley, Central Italy (BAR International Series 595). Oxford, Tempus Reparatum. 30–33.
  • Hayes, J.W. and Wightman, E.M. (1984) Interamna Lirenas: risultati di ricerche in superficie 1979–1981. In S. QuiliciGigli (ed.) Archeologia Laziale VI (Quaderni del Centro di Studio per l'Archeologia Etrusco-Italica 8). Roma, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. 137–148.

References

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  1. ^ a b Gordon, Laura. "Wightman, Edith Mary". Database of Classical Scholars | Rutgers, University of New Jersey. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Ridgway, David (1994). "Edith Wightman". Biographical Dictionary of North American Classicists by American Philological Association. p. 709.
  3. ^ a b c d Rossiter, J (1984). "Edith Mary Wightman". Échos du Monde Classique. 28: 302–3.
  4. ^ Monte Irsi, Southern Italy : the Canadian excavations in the Iron Age and Roman sites, 1971-1972. Small, Alastair., Barker, Graeme. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports. 1977. ISBN 090453166X. OCLC 3390190.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. ^ Hitchner, R. Bruce (2010). "Professor Colin Michael Wells". Libyan Studies. 41: 5–6. doi:10.1017/S0263718900000236. ISSN 0263-7189.
  6. ^ Archaeological survey in the Lower Liri Valley, Central Italy. Wightman, Edith Mary, -1983., Hayes, John W., Martini, I. P. (Ireneo Peter), 1935-. Oxford: Tempvs Reparatvm. 1994. ISBN 9780860547693. OCLC 32394341.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. ^ Woolf, G. (2005). "Family History in the Roman North-West". In George, M. (ed.). The Roman Family in the Empire: Rome, Italy, and Beyond. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 231–254.
  8. ^ Laet, S. J. De (1987). "Wightman Edith Mary . Gallia Belgica. London: B. T. Batsford, 1985. xiv + 386 pp., 84 illus. £19.95". Antiquity. 61 (231): 145–146. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00072732. ISSN 0003-598X.
  9. ^ Greene, K. (1986). The Archaeology of the Roman Economy. London: B. T. Batsford Ltd. p. 141.
  10. ^ a b Percival, John (1986). "Gallia Belgica. By Wightman Edith Mary. 24 × 15·5 cm. Pp. xiv + 386, 44 figs. + 40 pls. London: B. T. Batsford, 1985. ISBN 0-7134-4609-9. £19·95". The Antiquaries Journal. 66 (2): 432. doi:10.1017/S0003581500028377. ISSN 1758-5309. S2CID 163644486.
  11. ^ a b "Canadian News Briefs". United Press International. 12 January 1984. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  12. ^ Transvestite charged in murder. In: The Cord Weekly, 19 January 1984, p. 8 (online).
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