We are very sad to announce the death from cancer of our Chairman Tim Darvill, aged 66. Tim was a founder trustee of Cotswold Archaeology in 1989 and Chairman since 1992, an astonishing 35-year leadership role with our company.
Tim was one of the foremost archaeologists and prehistorians of his generation with a prodigious work ethic. He was a precocious schoolboy archaeologist who by the age of thirty had achieved more than most people manage in a whole career. Aged 33, Tim was appointed to the newly established Chair of Property Development and Archaeology at Bournemouth Polytechnic (later University). He was remarkably young to be made a professor at that time and spent the rest of his career at Bournemouth working on a multitude of diverse archaeological projects.
Tim was an archaeologist of international renown and is perhaps most widely known from his association with Stonehenge. He directed the first excavation for forty years within the stones and was a passionate advocate for the proposed (but, for now at least, abandoned) A303 road tunnel. He was also one of the pioneers of cultural resource management in the UK, one particularly notable achievement being a study of the changing state of England’s archaeology that provided recommendations for the monitoring of change at hundreds of historic sites. He was awarded an OBE for services to archaeology in 2010.
There will be many tributes describing Tim’s contribution and legacy in the coming weeks, but at Cotswold Archaeology we know him best as our founding father. Quite simply, without Tim we would not exist. In 1989 a very large retail development was proposed in Cirencester, with an associated scheme of major excavation of the Roman town. With characteristic foresight Tim recognised that to deliver this work a new approach was required, and he persuaded the Cirencester Excavation Committee that it should reconstitute itself as a limited company, adopt a management structure based upon a small Board of Directors and seek Charitable status. Cotswold Archaeological Trust (CAT) was formed; we rebranded as Cotswold Archaeology in 2002. From the outset, Tim encouraged us to embrace the burgeoning possibilities of commercial archaeology and work not just in Gloucestershire but across southern England. Our early years were often rocky and cash strapped, but we found a way to survive, and then thrive. Today we are one of the biggest employers of professional archaeologists in the UK with over 300 colleagues.
Tim was passionately devoted to CA. He delighted in our growth and development. While he understood the importance of the business side of our operations, it was always archaeology first with Tim. He wanted us to do good work and write good reports. He encouraged us to understand what we were finding and set it in its appropriate context. He delighted in our publications as he was an avid bibliophile with an extensive and high-quality archaeological library. Our monographs were prized additions.
Tim was born in Cheltenham and developed his interest in the archaeology of Gloucestershire as a schoolboy. Despite his international interests, his love for his home county never wavered. One of his personal highlights was directing the excavation of a Neolithic long barrow near Cirencester from 2016 onwards. This was every archaeologist’s dream: the chance to investigate in exacting detail one of the very monuments that had first fired their interest in the subject.
Tim was always most comfortable in the company of other archaeologists, talking and debating. He served on many academic and professional committees, but particularly enjoyed the camaraderie and laughter that characterized our meetings. Despite his extraordinary work ethic, he did find time for other interests, particularly music. He was the guitarist in an occasional rock group called the Standing Stones, and in the 1970s ran discos for archaeological parties across the west of England. Other hobbies included folk traditions and book collecting.
Archaeology was Tim’s life, but he was never someone who looked back to a (usually mythical) golden age of discovery. He thought that the familiarity developers had gained with the archaeological process over the last thirty years was a foundation upon which ever more rewarding programmes of investigation could be delivered in the future. As a positive statement for life, he believed in the maxim “The best is yet to come!”. He leaves a tremendous record of achievement and a great legacy. Our task at CA is to stick close to those values he advocated so strongly, and make sure we continue to improve as a company, so our best work is indeed yet to come.
Vice Chair Dr Laura Evis said “Tim has been a true inspiration and mentor to countless archaeologists and enthusiasts. His profound passion for the field is evident in the wide range of archaeological projects and research he supported throughout his career, from the depths of prehistory to the intricacies of forensic practice. Tim’s exceptional ability to captivate audiences during lectures, talks and media appearances was a unique talent that undoubtedly sparked many archaeological careers, including my own. His philosophy of ‘doing good archaeology’ has been the cornerstone of CA’s success under his 35-year leadership, a legacy we will strive to uphold.”
Chief Executive Neil Holbrook said “Tim interviewed me for my first job at CA in 1991 – he asked a couple of absolute stinker questions that totally stumped me! – and we have been good colleagues and friends ever since. His conviction in the early days that CA would succeed was unshakable, and that faith has contributed so much to what we have achieved since. It was always about the archaeology with Tim and that must, and will, remain our philosophy”.
