Pitt Rivers was born in 1827 and had a successful military career, rising to the rank of Lieutenant-General before he developed his interest in the science of archaeology as a result of amateur excavation carried out on his estate, which boasted material from the Roman and Saxon periods. His approach was highly methodical, especially by comparison with the habits of the time, and he was one of the first to display his finds by type and chronology. The collection he amassed formed the basis of the Pitt Rivers Museum which is still one of Oxford's leading attractions.
In 1882, Pitt Rivers became the first Inspector of Ancient Monuments to the British government. He died in 1900.
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