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Stuart Piggott was one of the foremost archaeologists of the twentieth century. He dominated British archaeology and was an important figure in the synthesis of European and Asian prehistory during this period. However, his reputation has not survived the dramatic changes in thought that have characterized the last three decades, and he has to a certain extent been written out of the archaeological history of the twentieth century. Recent works have tended to restrict discussion of his contribution to particular issues such as the early history of the discipline and characterize his career as representative of the limitations of the cultural historical approach to archaeology. These views have some validity, but they do not accurately convey the important position Piggott held in creating much of the disciplinary and methodological structures that dominated and to a certain extent continue to dominate British archaeology. They also underestimate the importance his ideas have in the continued conception of European prehistory as a complex relationship between barbarism and civilization.
Stuart Piggott was born in Petersfield, Hampshire, a small town on the edge of the Wessex chalklands, which he remained attached to throughout his life. He was involved in archaeological activity while still a schoolboy and soon came to the attention of 0. G. S. Crawford, then the Ordnance Survey archaeologist based in Southampton. Crawford managed to get him his first job with the Royal Commission in Wales, but this was a short-lived position, and he returned to Wessex in 1933 to work for Alexander Keiller, the marmalade magnate, at Avebury. He was ostensibly assistant director of the excavation of the famous stone circle but had a wider remit to research the Neolithic of Wessex.
This was a very productive period for Piggott. He directed or codirected several excavations, including those at Avebury, the long barrows of Holdenhurst and Thickthom, and the chambered tomb at Lanhill; he also participated in the excavations at Little Woodbury and Sutton Hoo. These excavations were frequently innovative, consisting of large area excavations and sometimes involving mechanical diggers. They demonstrated a concern with context and stratigraphy, which was unusually rigorous for that period. Publication was prompt, and this was a feature of Piggott's career that distinguished him from many of his colleagues.
During this time...