Ralph Merrifield | |
|---|---|
 Photograph of Merrifield | |
| Born | 22 August 1913 |
| Died | 9 January 1995 (aged 81) London, England |
| Nationality | English |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Alma mater | Varndean College |
| Known for | Study and new interpretation of the archaeology of London and the archaeology of ritual and magic. |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Archaeology Curator |
| Institutions | Brighton Museum Guildhall Museum Museum of London |
Ralph Merrifield (22 August 1913 – 9 January 1995) was an English museum curator and archaeologist.[Fn 1] Described as "the father of London's modern archaeology",[2] Merrifield was a specialist in the archaeology of both Roman London and magical practices, publishing six books on these subjects over the course of his life.
Merrifield began his career in 1930 as an assistant at Brighton Museum. In 1935 he gained an external degree in anthropology from the University of London. During the Second World War he served in the Royal Air Force. In 1950 he became assistant keeper of the Guildhall Museum in London. In 1956 he relocated to Accra to oversee the opening of the new National Museum of Ghana, before returning to work at the Guildhall Museum. He produced a synthesis of known material on the archaeology of Roman London, published as The Roman City of London in 1965.
He was appointed senior keeper of the new Museum of London on its establishment in 1976, and soon after was promoted to deputy director. He retired in 1978 but remained active, lecturing, and publishing The Archaeology of Ritual and Magic (1987) and further studies of Roman London. He was a keen supporter of the Standing Conference on London Archaeology, a body designed to monitor the impact that English Heritage was having on the city's archaeology, which he believed to be negative.
- ^ Peterson & Peterson 2016, p. 61.
- ^ Marsden 1995.
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