Soldiering Archaeology: Pitt Rivers and ‘Militarism’

Abstract

This paper initially explores the impact of the military on the development of British archaeology generally. It then focuses on the career of General Pitt Rivers, whose army background – especially his work in ordnance and when serving as legal prosecutor – fundamentally informed his archaeology, providing the basis for his concept of proof and the adjudication of evidence. Pitt Rivers was an active member of, and contributed to, the collections of the ‘lost’ museum of the Royal United Services Institute. His particular interest was in the study of Primitive Warfare , and he demonstrated its evolution through his ‘typological’ collections of weapons. Finally, given the breadth of military experience and the diverse participation of its members within the discipline, critique is made of Wheeler’s singular formulation of an ‘army-influenced archaeology’.