2020/11/07 by Seren Griffiths, Nicholas J. Saunders · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Ancient history #Archaeological Research and Protection #Archaeology #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies #Battlefield #Conflict archaeology #First world war #History #Moors #Officer #Paleopathology and ancient diseases #Prehistoric archaeology #Prehistory #Sketch #Spanish Civil War
paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/s10761-020-00572-6
openalex publication_date 2020/11/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Abstract Francis Buckley was extraordinary; an officer responsible for arming grenades, excavating trenches, surveying, sketch-mapping, and military intelligence, his actions were a roll-call of the First World War’s bloodiest battles. The psychological toll was significant. War remade the man and created the archaeologist. Under fire, Buckley recorded prehistoric lithics on the Somme, a rich archaeological landscape, and a deadly battlefield. After the war, “tramping” the Yorkshire moors, Buckley applied military skills to excavate and record a key, but still understudied lithic collection. This paper explores Francis Buckley’s war, its implications for the history of archaeological thought, and reasserts his under-acknowledged legacy.