Glyn Daniel | |
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| Born | 23 April 1914 Lampeter Velfrey,Pembrokeshire, Wales |
| Died | 13 December 1986(1986-12-13) (aged 72) |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Cardiff University St John's College, Cambridge |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Archaeology |
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| Institutions | |
Glyn Edmund DanielFBA FRAI (23 April 1914 – 13 December 1986) was aWelsh scientist and archaeologist who taught atCambridge University, where he specialised in the EuropeanNeolithic period. He was appointedDisney Professor of Archaeology in 1974[1] and edited the academic journalAntiquity from 1958 to 1985. In addition to early efforts to popularise archaeological study and antiquity on radio and television, he edited several popular studies of the fields. He also published mysteries under the pseudonymDilwyn Rees.
Daniel was born inLampeter Velfrey,Pembrokeshire, a small village betweenNarberth andWhitland in south-westWales, as an only child. His father, John Daniel, was the village schoolmaster there.[2] When Glyn Daniel was five he moved with his parents toLlantwit Major in theVale of Glamorgan.[3] He attended Barry County School for Boys inBarry, where his academic ability led to him being awarded a State Scholarship (which enabled him to go to theUniversity of Cambridge) and a Glamorgan County Scholarship in 1931.[4] The Glamorgan County Scholarship allowed Glyn Daniel to studygeology atCardiff University and the church organ atLlandaff Cathedral for a year.[5] In 1932, he went up toSt John's College, Cambridge, initially to readgeography, and thenarchaeology andanthropology. He graduated with a first-class honours degree with distinction[6] and remained at St John's for the rest of his academic career.
During theSecond World War, Daniel applied his talents at interpreting archaeological sites throughaerial photography by working for theRAF's air photo reconnaissance unit atRAF Medmenham. He examined and analysed photos of enemy territory. In 1942, Daniel was sent to India to lead the Central Photographic Interpretation Section inDelhi, a mini-Medmenham for theSouth-East Asian theatre, ultimately achieving the rank ofwing commander. A year after the war Daniel married one of hisWAAF officers, Ruth Langhorne.[7]
After the war Daniel returned to Cambridge to resume his academic life. In the years 1954-56, he presented the BBC archaeology programmeBuried Treasure, which featured guests such asKathleen Kenyon, SirMortimer Wheeler, and actressNoelle Middleton. He becameDisney Professor of Archaeology in 1974. From 1958 to 1985, he was editor of the academic journalAntiquity. His main subject of study wasNeolithicchamber tombs, although he also wrote books on the history of archaeology and archaeological thought.
Daniel appeared on television. He was the host, often with Sir Mortimer Wheeler as a guest, of thegame showAnimal, Vegetable, Mineral?.[8] He was named Television Personality of the Year in 1955.[9] In 1981, he appeared as the guest onDesert Island Discs.[10] He edited numerous popular studies of archaeological sites and cultures.
He died in Cambridge and theMcDonald Institute, University of Cambridge, have named theGlyn Daniel Laboratory for Archaeogenetics in his memory.
Daniel published two detective fiction novels.The Cambridge Murders (1945) was published under thepseudonymDilwyn Rees, and later re-published in 1965 byPenguin Books under his own name.Welcome Death was published under his own name in 1954. The detective in both novels is Sir Richard Cherrington, an eminent but slightly eccentric archaeologist who is the Vice-President of Fisher College. An obituary of Daniel byNorman Hammond inAmerican Antiquity says that Sir Richard was "transparently based on Mortimer Wheeler".[13]
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| Preceded by | Disney Professor of Archaeology, Cambridge University 1974–81 | Succeeded by |
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