Ralph Merrifield

Ralph Merrifield (1913–95) was a noted British museum curator, archaeologist and researcher. Merrifield has been described as "The father of London's modern archaeology", as he is the only person since World War II to map the remains of Roman London.^[1]

Early life

Born in Brighton in 1913, Ralph was brought up by his mother; his father died in 1916.^[1] He attended the Varndean College. In 1930, when in the sixth form, Ralph started working in the Brighton Museum under H.S. Toms (a former assistant of Augustus Pitt Rivers).^[1]

Career

In 1950 took a post as Assistant Keeper of the Guildhall Museum (the collection now merged with the Museum of London). In 1956 he went with his wife to Ghana where they were instrumental in founding the National Museum of Ghana. In 1975 he became the Deputy Director of the Museum of London, a post which saw him through to retirement in 1978. His areas of research included the archaeology of London (in particular the Roman period) and the archaeology of British ritual and magic. His book The Archaeology of Ritual and Magic became a standard text in its field,^[1][2][3]and was dedicated to memory of H.S. Toms.

Selected publications

• Merrifield, Ralph. (1987). The Archaeology of Ritual and Magic. New York: New Amsterdam.^[4][5]
• Merrifield, Ralph. (1973). A handbook to Roman London. Guildhall Library, London, England
• Merrifield, Ralph. (1975) The archaeology of London. Heinemann Educational

References