Elizabeth Eames facts for kids
Elizabeth Eames (born June 24, 1918 – died September 20, 2008) was a British archaeologist. She was an expert in studying medieval tiles. Her knowledge grew from her job at the British Museum. There, she helped organize and care for their collection of old English floor tiles. Elizabeth became a top expert in this area of medieval history. She wrote books and articles, and also dug up more tiles from old floors and kilns (tile ovens). She also taught about medieval building methods in different places.
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Early Life and Education
Elizabeth Sara Graham was born in Northampton on June 24, 1918. Her mother was Eveline Lucy Graham, and her father, Arthur Frederick Graham, was a chemist. Elizabeth went to Rugby High School. In 1937, she started studying English at Newnham College in Cambridge.
Later, she changed her studies to archaeology and anthropology. She focused on Anglo-Saxon history and similar topics. Her work on a special degree was stopped by World War II. She joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) and served until 1946. After the war, she spent a year at the University of Oslo. She then earned a degree from Cambridge for her research on women in Viking society. In 1949, she married Herbert Wells Eames. They had three children.
Elizabeth Eames' Archaeology Career
After leaving the ATS, Elizabeth Eames went to work at the British Museum. The museum was in poor condition because of bomb damage from the war. Many items were being unpacked from storage. Elizabeth was given the job of sorting through thousands of tiles. This included 9,000 tiles from the Duke of Rutland's collection. Many tiles were damaged by damp and needed careful repair before being organized and stored.
Before Elizabeth, not many scholars had studied tiles. She "made this forgotten subject her career." She dug up and collected more tiles. She studied the museum's large collection. She created a very detailed way to study them. This led to her important book, Catalogue of Medieval Lead-Glazed tiles in the Department of Medieval and Later Antiquities in the British Museum. This book has two volumes. It describes and shows 13,882 tiles in great detail. The oldest tiles are from the late Anglo-Saxon period, and the newest are from the 1500s. This book is more than just a list. It shows Elizabeth's deep understanding of how medieval tiles were made. It also explains their place in medieval art and economy.
Discovering Ancient Tile Sites
Elizabeth also led excavations (digs) at sites where tile floors and kilns were found. These sites included North Grange, Meaux Abbey (1957–58), Clarendon Palace, Salisbury, in the early 1960s, Ramsey Abbey, Cambridgeshire (1967–68), and Haverholme Priory, Lincolnshire, in 1970. At Clarendon, she carefully removed two tile floors and a 13th-century kiln. These had been found earlier by Tancred Borenius. She had them moved to the museum. A few years later, she created a new gallery at the museum to display these floors and kilns. In 1978, she was given an MBE award for her work. Elizabeth retired from the British Museum in 1980. By then, she had finished and published her main work.
Teaching and Contributions
Elizabeth enjoyed working with scholars from other countries. She was well-respected outside of Britain. In 1983, a conference was held in London to celebrate her achievements. Scholars from several countries attended. There are even tile catalogues in Denmark and Germany that were created using her book as a model.
Elizabeth was a popular teacher. She taught at universities and in classes for the public in London. She continued teaching into her eighties. She made many important contributions to medieval studies, in addition to her museum work. In the late 1960s, she worked with A.B. Emden. They organized field workers to collect information for a list of medieval tiles in Britain.
In 1958, she became a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. She also served on its council. For many years, she was a leading member of the British Archaeological Association (BAA). She was also active in several smaller, local archaeology groups near London. Besides being a vice-president of the BAA, she helped with its brick section. This added to her reputation as a "considerable figure" in the study of medieval building construction. Elizabeth Eames passed away on September 20, 2008.
