Talk:Mortimer Wheeler

Untitled
I deleted the mention of a supposed pejorative, in my opinion, nickname. He was knighted in 1952, at age 62; so he could be called "Randy Sir Morty" only from this time on, depicting him as an old lecher? An encyclopaedia could not contain this type of trivia without proper references. Kraxler 17:09, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

There was a link to Order of the Thistle, but on that page there is no mention of Wheeler, although all the knights of the Order are listed there. So I changed the link to Knight. Kraxler 20:07, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

Suggestion to add a related topic
I was going over archeology and stumbled across a term - Wheeler box-grid developed by Mortimer Wheeler. I thought this was a significant enough topic to be at least mentioned in his biography, and possibly have a short mention of it in the Archeology under Methods section. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vvolodymyr (talk • contribs) 18:04, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

TV programmes
He definitely didn't host Animal, Vegetable, Mineral (the host was Glyn Daniel; Wheeler was a very frequent panellist). Did he actually host Buried Treasure and Chronicle or just appear on them? -- 89.168.248.221 (talk) 14:19, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

Moved from article page
The following section was moved here from the article page. It is mostly one-sided claims, and written in an unencyclopedic style, and largely irrelevant. However, something might be worked at its proper place into the article. Kraxler (talk) 12:11, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Controversy
Mortimer Wheeler is often credited with establishing the importance of the ancient South Indian site, Arikamedu. Archaeological evidence suggests that Arikamedu had contacts with Rome in the first century C.E., and this has aided historians to establish a chronology for South Indian history. In an article dated July 1, 2011 in The Hindu (http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article2151055.ece A. Srivathsan, 2011. The Hindu], Webcitation, A. Srivathsan argues that French historians were already acquainted with Arikamedu prior to Mortimer Wheeler's visit. What follows is a summary of the claims made by Srivathsan in his article. Jouveau Dubreuil the French archaeologist, who was living in Pondicherry knew about the significance of the site. However, a formal expedition had not yet been undertaken. Four years prior to Wheeler's visit to Arikamedu, A. Aiyappan the Superintendent of the Government Museum in Madras conducted expeditions and even published his findings in The Hindu in 1941. After having studied the remains at the site (which Dubreuil shared with him), he had decided to systematically explore the site. Aiyappan's 1941 article contained a description of the site and illustrations of it as well as the finds. In 1944 when Wheeler came to take up his position as the Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India at the Government Museum in Madras, it was Aiyappan who received him, and later explained to Wheeler about one of the findings at Arikamedu (an amphora); it was after this meeting between them that Wheeler left for Arikamedu. Srivathsan writes that not only did Wheeler not acknowledge the work of Aiyappan's contribution but also appeared to have had a different version of his encounter with Arikamedu. In his autobiographical work My Archaeological Mission to India and Pakistan (1976), Wheeler describes how "fortuitously" he arrived in Madras in 1944 and when he came to the museum found it deserted. When he wandered around the museum he came across the amphora in a cupboard. Wheeler wrote that it was his "tireless questioning" that led to his knowledge that the amphora had been extricated from a site near Pondicherry. Srivathsan suggests that one possible reason behind Wheeler's account could be the latter's "contempt for non-specialists undertaking excavation and his own urge to emphasise the importance of his own methods". Aiyappan was a trained anthropologist who completed his doctoral degree under Raymond Firth at the London School of Economics. He took up the position of Superintendent at the Madras Museum in 1937. Srivathsan writes that Aiyappan knew the limitations of his work and "made only modest claims in his article about his findings". Wheeler appears to have a made a comment about amateurs who were anxious to do well but had no idea what good work is.

76 Brigade
As an artilleryman, Wheeler served with 76 Army Field Artillery Brigade, which is not the same formation as 76th Brigade (United Kingdom) (an infantry brigade with no organic artillery component beyond trench mortars). 76 Army Field Artillery Brigade is described here http://1914-1918.net/rfa_units_76.html, and the catalogue descriptions from The National Archives (United Kingdom) show that it was assigned to Third Army (United Kingdom) at the time he joined the unit http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7349887. At the time it was an army troops formation, ie at the direct disposal of the army commander to support army operations, rather than being part of one of the subordinate formations making up the Army (Corps or Division). Artillery brigades were subsequently (in the inter-war period) renamed artillery regiments, partly becuase of the potential for confusion, hence the title of the units in which he served during the Second World War. The changes I've made to the article may require some additional references, hopefully some of the links I've used here can serve. David Underdown (talk) 15:27, 16 October 2015 (UTC)

Second World War: 1939–45
Wheeler had been expecting and openly hoping for war with Nazi Germany for a year prior to the outbreak of hostilities; he believed that the United Kingdom's involvement in the conflict would remedy the shame that he thought had been brought upon the country by its signing of the Munich Agreement in September 1938.[119] Volunteering for the armed services, he was assigned to assemble the 48th Light Anti-Aircraft Battery at Enfield, where he set about recruiting volunteers, including his son.[120] As the 48th swelled in size, it was converted into the 42nd Mobile Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment in the Royal Artillery, which consisted of four batteries and was led by Wheeler – now promoted to the rank of colonel – as Commanding Officer.[121]

I am raising a query of the history of the 48th Light Anti Aircraft Battery at Enfield, viz there were some Enfield Gunners who were in a 48th Battery when it was part of the 21st Light Anti Aircraft Regiment of the British Royal Artillery in 1941 - 1942. In December 1941 it was intended that they serve in Africa when they sailed on the Empress of Australia - but instead they were diverted to the Netherlands East Indies. Subsequently some such as Gunner Norman Frost, 1482073, were captured in Garut/Garoet near Bandung in the Netherlands East Indies in March 1942. They were transferred to Changi as Part of Java Party 2 before a group were sent to Kuching POW and then onto the Sandakan POW Camp in Borneo. So my question is the relationship of the 48th Battery of Enfield of the 21st LAA Regiment versus the 48th Battery of the 42nd Mobile LAA Regiment ? KerrieanneC (talk) 02:57, 30 December 2015 (UTC) KerrieAnneC

Michael Mortimer Wheeler
There may be something worth adding from the obituary of Wheeler's son, Michael, here.

For instance, in the Second World War, Wheeler (apparently and somewhat irregularly) commissioned his son as a second lieutenant into his anti-aircraft unit. By the end of the war, the son was promoted to (temporary) lieutenant colonel and in commanded of a regiment. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.73.123.193 (talk • contribs)


 * Good find! I've created a short article on Michael Mortimer Wheeler and added a link to this article. –&#8239;Joe (talk) 19:45, 30 November 2017 (UTC)

new study disproves aryan invasion theory
genetical study disproves aryan invasion theory

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/dna-analysis-of-rakhigarhi-remains-challenges-aryan-invasion-theory/articleshow/71018198.cms — Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.98.15.2 (talk) 05:22, 7 September 2019 (UTC)
 * How is this relevant to the article in question? Midnightblueowl (talk) 10:10, 7 September 2019 (UTC)
 * Wheeler described the Aryan invasion in his "Buried Treasure" television programme of 1957 on Mohenjo Daro, though it it is not mentioned in our article. NRPanikker (talk) 05:21, 15 February 2023 (UTC)