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pits to search for ancient sites. He trained as a teacher but spent his spare time pursuing his passion for archaeology and never took a formal qualification in the discipline. In 1948 he married is first wife, Paula May, with whom he had five children.
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as well as
Secretary of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History from 1977 to 1984, a Vice-President from 1985 and its President from 2001. In 1998 a festschrift was published in his honour. In 2002 the British Academy awarded him its
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He is remembered by the archaeological community for his approachability, concision and enthusiasm as well as his exquisite technical drawings. Outside the field, he enjoyed
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He made his name in the field in July 1955 when at the age of 27 and still working as an amateur, he found the third piece of the oldest
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243:. In 1976 he married his second wife, Mollie Spurling, after the dissolution of his first marriage in 1972. He lectured at the
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435:(1998), "Elandsfontein and Klasies River revisited", in Wymer, John; Ashton, Nick; Pettitt, Paul; Healy, Frances (eds.),
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372:"John Wymer: Archaeologist unrivalled in his knowledge of the simple stone tools of the Lower Palaeolithic (obituary)."
196:, approached Ronald Singer, an anatomist, about working in South Africa. They worked together at Elandsfontein and
274:(1999) has become the key reference work for the period. Clive Gamble described it as archaeology's equivalent of
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200:. At Elandsfontein Wymer's excavation of Cutting 10 located a localised grouping dominated by 49 large sharp
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in Kent. This 400,000-year-old piece fitted with two previously found fragments and is part of the skull of
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259:(1985). Later he worked for the Norfolk Archaeological Unit excavating sites from all periods.
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which permitted him to devote more time to his enthusiastic lifelong interest in the study of
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to map and assess the known
Palaeolithic sites across Britain. The published two volume
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in Surrey, Wymer was introduced to archaeology by his parents who would take him to
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Lower
Palaeolithic Archaeology in Britain as represented by the Upper Thames Valley
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414:"John Wymer: Enthusiastic hunter of skulls, stone tools and the roots of history."
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and their makers. He helped redesign the galleries, wrote a description of the
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To gain wider experience Wymer, at the suggestion of the palaeontologist
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Wymer, John; Ashton, Nick; Pettitt, Paul; Healy, Frances (1998),
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Just before his death, he was closely involved in discoveries at
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in providing the foundation stone for future study in the field.
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by digging a trench through the site. This spanned the entire
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The Middle Stone Age at
Klasies River Mouth in South Africa.
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and playing the piano, with an especial fondness for the
208:' skull. With Ronald Singer, a South African then at the
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in the
British Isles while investigating the quarries at
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401:, no. 53292, London, p. 8, 6 August 1955
114:, (5 March 1928 – 10 February 2006) was a British
513:(1976), "A long blade industry from Sproughton",
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365:
363:
395:"The Skull at Swanscombe: New Find Identified",
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204:bifaces after Singer had previously found the '
312:in recognition of his decades of scholarship.
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185:. In 1968 he published his first major work,
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308:. His honorary doctorate was awarded by the
272:The Lower Palaeolithic Occupation of Britain
154:, who is now considered to be a specimen of
177:and undertook an excavation at the classic
757:Academics of the University of East Anglia
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228:. He left South Africa suddenly in 1968.
16:For the Australian rules footballer, see
490:, Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
292:back by 200,000 years to c. 700,000 BP.
439:, Oxford: Oxbow Books, pp. 23–28,
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306:Clark Medal for Prehistoric Archaeology
288:that put human occupation north of the
231:On his return to England he worked at
118:and one of the leading experts on the
762:Recipients of the Grahame Clark Medal
299:in 1963 and was also a Fellow of the
7:
216:sequence of more than 20m thick at
581:List of hominina (hominid) fossils
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257:Palaeolithic Sites in East Anglia
486:Singer, R.; Wymer, JJ. (1982),
370:Gamble, Clive (17 March 2006),
295:He was elected a Fellow of the
752:People from Reading, Berkshire
1:
412:Pitts, Mike (10 March 2006),
543:obituary p 38, 17 March 2006
532:Eastern Daily Press obituary
262:In the 1990s, together with
212:, they exposed a remarkable
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515:East Anglian Archaeology 3
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245:University of East Anglia
161:In 1956 he took a job at
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100:University of East Anglia
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547:Daily Telegraph obituary
348:"John Wymer (obituary)."
279:The Buildings of England
747:People from Kew, London
466:, Oxford: Oxbow Books,
266:he was commissioned by
18:John Wymer (footballer)
742:English archaeologists
297:Society of Antiquaries
576:(with link directory)
568:The J.J.Wymer Archive
310:University of Reading
210:University of Chicago
699:Kristian Kristiansen
573:List of fossil sites
253:The Palaeolithic Age
156:homo heidelbergensis
669:Geoffrey Wainwright
621:Grahame Clark Medal
384:on 12 February 2011
353:The Daily Telegraph
72:Grahame Clark Medal
619:Recipients of the
264:Wessex Archaeology
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556:Guardian obituary
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80:Scientific career
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645:J. Desmond Clark
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268:English Heritage
112:John James Wymer
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59:10 February 2006
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226:Late Stone Age
163:Reading Museum
152:Swanscombe Man
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206:Saldanha Man
194:Louis Leakey
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120:Palaeolithic
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96:Institutions
79:
61:(2006-02-10)
45:5 March 1928
22:
737:2006 deaths
732:1928 births
541:Independent
536:Gamble, C,
511:Wymer, J.J.
255:(1982) and
144:human skull
132:Kew Gardens
726:Categories
693:Joan Oates
657:John Wymer
639:John Coles
553:John Wymer
551:Pitts, M,
538:John Wymer
473:190018866X
446:190018866X
331:References
276:Pevsener's
251:, writing
237:Sproughton
179:Mesolithic
148:Swanscombe
130:Born near
41:1928-03-05
29:John Wymer
398:The Times
323:style of
286:Pakefield
202:Acheulian
171:Moulsford
126:Biography
562:See also
317:real ale
183:Thatcham
181:site at
167:handaxes
122:period.
526:Sources
249:Norwich
241:Clacton
709:2020:
703:2018:
697:2016:
691:2014:
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655:2002:
649:1999:
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637:1995:
631:1993:
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239:, and
222:Middle
136:gravel
86:Fields
74:(2002)
68:Awards
233:Hoxne
173:gold
492:ISBN
468:ISBN
441:ISBN
290:Alps
224:and
175:torc
56:Died
35:Born
247:in
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454:^
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612:e
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598:v
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