Ronald F. Tylecote

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Ronald Frank Tylecote (15 June 1916-17 June 1990) was a British archaeologist, generally recognised as the founder of the sub-discipline of archaeometallurgy.

Born in Manchester and educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, Tylecote became interested in metallurgy through concern over the destruction of British furnaces and other valuable artefacts.

As founding editor of the journal Historical Metallurgy and professor at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, his work included Metallurgy in Archaeology: a Prehistory of Metallurgy in the British Isles (1962), which became the standard reference work, and The Early History of Metallurgy in Europe(1987).

Tylecote investigated early mining and smelting sites around the world, including Timna in Israel and the Roman silver mines of Rio Tinto in Spain. He also excavated sites in Sudan, Nigeria, Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan.