V. Gordon Childe
Australian-born archaeologist who recreated a vitrified fort wall
- Born
- 1892, Sydney, Australia
- Died
- 1957, Mount Victoria, New South Wales
- Positions
- Abercromby Professor, Edinburgh (1927–46); director, Institute of Archaeology, London (1946–56)
- Known for
- 'Neolithic revolution' and 'urban revolution'; Skara Brae excavations
- Vitrification experiment
- 1937, with Wallace Thorneycroft
The influential prehistorian who, in 1937, set fire to a test wall of stone and timber and showed how ancient forts could be vitrified.
What is V. Gordon Childe known for?
Vere Gordon Childe (1892–1957) was one of the most influential archaeologists of the 20th century. Born in Sydney, he was professor of prehistoric archaeology at the University of Edinburgh from 1927 to 1946 and then director of the Institute of Archaeology in London. He coined the terms 'Neolithic revolution' and 'urban revolution', and he excavated the Neolithic village of Skara Brae in Orkney.
In 1937, with the mining engineer Wallace Thorneycroft, Childe built a test wall of stone with a timber frame at Plean Colliery in Scotland and set it on fire. The heat partly melted the stone into glassy, vitrified masses like those seen in Scotland's vitrified forts. They published the result in 1938, showing that a large timber-laced wall fire could cause vitrification without any exotic heat source.
Debate continues on whether forts were burned by attackers, by defenders, or deliberately as a ritual or to strengthen walls.
His 1937 experiment showed how ordinary fire could vitrify a fort wall.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holeVitrified forts
- PersonWallace Thorneycroft
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'V. Gordon Childe'Reference
- Childe and Thorneycroft, 'The Experimental Production of the Phenomena Distinctive of Vitrified Forts', Proc. Soc. Antiquaries of Scotland 72 (1938)Primary text
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