All Scholars
WIGHTMAN, Edith Mary
- Date of Birth: January 01, 1938
- Born City: Scotland
- Parents: R. J. and Edith W.
- Date of Death: December 17, 1983
- Death City: Hamilton
- Death State/Country: ON
- Education:
M.A. St. Andrews, 1960; dip. class, arch. Oxford, 1962; D. Phil. Oxford, 1968.
- Dissertation:
"Roman Trier and the Treveri" (Oxford, 1968); printed (London, 1970).
- Professional Experience:
Asst. to lctr. U. Leicester, 1965-9; asst. prof, to prof. hist. McMaster U., 1969-83; fell. Soc. Antiquaries, 1973; for. asso. mem. Soc. nat. antiq. de France, 1976; fell. RSC, 1982; Dumbarton Oaks Res. Center (Washington, DC), 1982.
- Publications:
"Rhineland 'Grabgarten' and Their Context," BJ 170 (1970) 211-32; "Some Aspects of the Late Roman Defensive System in Gaul," in Roman Frontier Studies 1967 (Tel Aviv, 1971) 46-51; "Excavations at Monte Irsi, Basilicata, Italy," with A. M. Small, Vergilius 18 (1972) 49-52; "Recent Excavations at Monte Irsi, Basilicata, Italy," AJA 11 (1973) 231-2 (summary); "La Gaule Chevelue entre Cesar et Auguste," in Actes du IXe congrès international d'ėtudes sur les frontières romaines, Mamaia 1972 (Bucharest, Cologne, & Vienna, 1974) 472-83 = Cahiers numismatiques 39 (Mars 1974) 9-18; "The Celtic Coinage of Pre-Roman Gaul," Cornucopiae 2 (1974) 33-45; "Priscae Gallorum Memoriae: Some Comments on Sources for a History of Gaul," in The Ancient Historian and His Materials. In Honour of C.E. Stevens, ed. B. Levick (Fainsborough, Hants., 1975) 93-107; "The Pattern of Rural Settlement in Roman Gaul," ANRWU,A (Berlin & New York, 1975) 584-657; "Gallo-Romans at Home," in Papers from the Conference on Canadian Archaeology Abroad, Calgary, November 23-25, 1973, ed. P. L. Shinnie, J. H. Robertson, F. J. Kense (Calgary, 1976), 35-47; "II y avait en Gaule deux sortes de Gaulois," in Assimilation et resistance a la culture gréco-latine dans le monde ancien, Travaux du Vie Congrès international d'études classiques (Madrid, 2-6 Sept. 1974) (Paris, 1976), 407-19; "Le vicus gallo-romaine: Quelques reflections," Actes du colloque sur le vicus gallo-romain, Paris, Juin 1975, numéro spécial de Caesarodunum 11 (1976) 59-64; "Der Meilenstein von Buzenol, eine Inschrift aus Mainz und die Rechtsstellung des römischen Trier," Trierer Zeitschrift 39 (1976) 61-8; Monte Irsi, Southern Italy: The Canadian Excavations in the Iron Age and Roman Sites, 1971-2, ed. with A. M. Small et al., BAR Suppl. Ser. 20 (Oxford, 1977); "The Lingones: Belgica, Lugdunensis or Germania Superior?," in Studien zu den Militdrgrenzen Roms II, Vortrdge des 10. internationalen Limeskongresses in der Germania Inferior (Köln & Bonn, 1977), 207-17; "Continuity from Roman to Early Medieval Times in the Towns of North-Eastern Gaul," in European Towns: Their Archaeology and Early History, ed. M. Barley (London, 1977) 303-14; "Soldier and Civilian in Early Roman Gaul," Akten des XI. Internationalen Limeskongresses (Budapest, 1978) 75-86; "Peasants and Potentates in Roman Gaul," AJAncHist 3 (1978) 97-128; "Gaulish Boars: Two Gold Coins in the Royal Ontario Museum," Cornucopiae 4 (1979) 23-8; "Canadian Excavations at Carthage, 1976 and 1978," with C. M. Wells, JFA 7 (1980) 43-63; "The Plan of Roman Carthage: Practicalities and Politics," in New Light on Ancient Carthage, ed. J. Pedley (Ann Arbor, 1980) 29-46; "The Lower Liri Valley: Problems, Trends and Peculiarities," Archaeology and Italian Society, Prehistoric, Roman and Medieval Studies, ed. G. Barker & R. Hodges, BAR Int. Ser. 102 (1981) 275-87; "The Fate of the Gallo-Roman Villages in the Third Century," in The Roman West in the Third Century: Contributions from Archaeology and History, ed. A. King & M. Henig, BAR Int. Ser. 109 (1981) 235-43; "North-Eastern Gaul in Late Antiquity: The Testimony of Settlement Patterns in an Age of Transition," Berichteen van de Rijksdienst voor het Oudeidkundig Bodemonderzoek 28 (1978) 241-50; "Rome and the Northern Gauls," a contribution to Unit 13 of the Open University (U.K.) course: Rome: The Augustan Age (Open University, 1982); Gallia Belgica [posthumous] (London, 1985).
- Notes:
Edith Wightman's meteoric career and international reputation came to a premature tragic end in her office at McMaster University. Her dedication to Roman history and to field archaeology, coupled with her abiding interest in the violoncello, was exemplary and inspirational to her colleagues and students. Training under Sir Ian Richmond and C. E. Stevens prompted her deep attachment to Roman provincial studies. Field work brought her to grips with material remains and their social and political implications in Britain, Switzerland, North Africa (Carthage), and central Italy. Her commitment to the quest for understanding the past was enlivening for others; her patient treatment of archaeological material which others might regard as trivial or dispensable was remarkable. Her role as field director at Carthage and in the Liri Valley, with McMaster and Ontario colleagues alongside, provided fresh insights and understanding for all her associates. Her cruel death was the occasion for a university memorial service and a eulogy by E. Togo Salmon, her predecessor as professor of ancient history at McMaster.
- Sources:
History Dept. files, McMaster U.; J. Rossiter, EMC 28 (1984) 302-3.
- Author: Alexander G. McKay
