Phoebe Keef
British archaeologist (1898–1978)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Phoebe Keef (1898–1978) was a field archaeologist and was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 1938.[3] She directed several excavations, including work at East Dean Park[1] and Harting Beacon, both in Sussex.[4]
P. A. M. Keef | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1898[1] Amritsar, India |
| Died | 1978 (aged 79–80)[note 1] |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Archaeology |
| Institutions | |
Biography
Keef was born in Amritsar in 1898, during the British Raj, and her family later moved to England where she went to school. Keef's father died when she was 3 years old. During the First World War, Keef worked for the YMCA and the St John's Ambulance,[1] and received a medal for her work with the YMCA.[5]
In 1934 Keef completed a diploma in archaeology, studying at University College London.[6] In 1938 she volunteered at the excavation of Angmering Roman villa.[3] She also excavated at Chester hill fort in Scotland in 1939.[7]
Keef worked at a hospital during the Second World War, and was a hospital librarian, but in 1941 was allowed time away from the hospital to join excavations at Angmering.[3][8] Two years later she took part in 'The Conference on the Future of Archaeology' at the Institute of Archaeology in London, contributing to a discussion on the role of archaeological societies.[9]
Keef directed excavations at the hillfort known as Harting Beacon between 1948 and 1952; the results were largely unpublished aside from a note in The Antiquaries Journal, however, Owen Bedwin later published a summary of the excavations in the Sussex Archaeological Collections based on Keef's notes accessed after her death.[4] Keef ran the West Sussex excavation group. With the group she excavated a Romano-British farmstead near Lambs Lea in Sussex in 1953–54.[10]
Selected publications
- Keef, Phoebe (1940). "Flint-Chipping Sites and Hearths on Bedham Hill near Pulborough". Sussex Archaeological Collections. 81: 215–237. doi:10.5284/1086692.
- — (1945). "Excavations at Chester Hill Fort, Hundleshope, in Manor Parish, 1939". Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 80: 66–73. doi:10.9750/PSAS.080.66.73.
- — (1945). "Angmering Roman Villa Site: Interim Report on Excavations, 1941". Sussex Archaeological Collections. 84: 83–107. doi:10.5284/1085960.
- — (1953). "Two gold penannular ornaments from Harting Beacon, Sussex". Antiquaries Journal. 33 (3–4): 204–206. doi:10.1017/S0003581500059400.
- Keef, Phoebe; Wymer, J. J.; Dimbleby, G. W. (1965). "A Mesolithic Site on Iping Common, Sussex, England". Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, London. 31: 85–92. doi:10.1017/S0079497X00014730.