Margaret Collingridge Wheeler facts for kids

Margaret Collingridge Wheeler (born in 1916, died in 1990) was an important Australian archaeologist. She helped dig up ancient sites like Maiden Castle, Dorset in the 1930s. Later, in the 1950s, she worked at Jericho with another famous archaeologist, Dame Kathleen Kenyon. Margaret also wrote books about archaeology that were easy for everyone to understand.

Early Life and Archaeology Work

Margaret Collingridge was born in Sydney, Australia. She later moved to England for her education. She joined an excavation team at Maiden Castle, Dorset. This was an ancient British hill fort from the Iron Age. Famous archaeologists Mortimer Wheeler and his first wife, Tessa Wheeler, were leading the dig.

Many other talented women archaeologists also worked there. These included Veronica Seton-Williams, Joan du Plat Taylor, Rachel Maxwell-Hyslop, and Margot Eates.

In 1938, Margaret joined Mortimer Wheeler's team again. They explored Camp d'Artus near Huelgoat, Finistère, in Brittany, France. They also explored sites in Normandy in 1939.

World War II and Travels

During the Second World War, Margaret Collingridge joined the ATS. This was a women's branch of the British Army. She learned how to use range-finding equipment.

She met a childhood friend, Robert Norfolk, who was a submarine commander. They got married. Sadly, in 1941, Robert Norfolk's submarine, HMS Thorn, was lost in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

In 1945, Margaret married Sir Mortimer Wheeler. At that time, Wheeler was the Director-General of Archaeology in India. Margaret traveled a lot with Wheeler. They visited many ancient sites in India, Iran, and Afghanistan.

Working at Jericho and Writing Books

In 1954, Margaret joined Dame Kathleen Kenyon's excavations at Jericho. Jericho is a very old city in the Middle East. Her book Walls of Jericho (published in 1956) describes this important excavation. It also talks about the people who worked there.

After that, she wrote more books. These included A Book of Archaeology and A Second Book of Archaeology. She became well-known for writing popular books about archaeology. These books made the subject interesting for many people.