International Women’s Day has been celebrated on the 8th of March each year since 1911. The theme for 2024 is #InspireInclusion. The day promotes equality and illuminates women’s achievements in many different fields. In this blog, ULAS Project Officer Jen Browning celebrates the career of one of Leicester’s great archaeologists, Jean Mellor.

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Archaeologists aren’t alone in appreciating that the present is built upon past foundations but, for us, it is perhaps a more potent metaphor. Leicester’s rich archaeology was recognised early on, the still-standing remains of the Roman Jewry Wall integrated into the heart of the city. The internationally renowned archaeologist, Kathleen Kenyon, excavated the site back in the 1930s.  But she was not the only woman to have a major impact on our understanding of Leicester’s archaeology. Jean Mellor was the Field Archaeologist for Leicester Museum from 1965 and later the Senior Field Archaeologist for the Leicestershire Archaeological Unit until its closure in the mid-nineties. She presided over enormous changes in attitudes, practice and the very framework in which archaeology operated. I believe she was the first female ‘City Archaeologist’ and at the vanguard of women leading archaeological units.

The archaeological profession of the mid-late 20th century was perhaps not dominated by men in the way that we imagine today. In the midlands alone, Jean was in the company of a number of other strong, charismatic and, sometimes controversial, female leaders; for example, Christina Colyer of Lincoln Archaeology Trust; Christine Mahany at South Lincolnshire; Evelyn Baker in Bedfordshire; Margaret Rylatt in Coventry and Helen MacLagan in Warwickshire.

I started my career in archaeology back in the 1990s. It was a time of crop tops, Britpop and… PPG16. Yes, that’s right, Planning Policy Guidance 16: Planning and Archaeology arrived in 1990, transforming funding for UK archaeological excavations. It was introduced following public protest over the proposed destruction of the Rose Theatre in London and the Queens Hotel site in York. This was a defining moment for archaeology, bringing it firmly into the realm of the planning system. PPG16 (and its later iterations, PPS5 and the National Planning Policy Framework) recognised that archaeology was a ‘highly fragile’ and ‘finite’ resource. Preservation in situ  was favoured but failing this, permitted excavation and ‘preservation by record’. Although not an entirely new way of funding, the financial burden was comprehensively shifted from the public purse on to the shoulders of the developer, fundamentally changing archaeology’s relationship with the construction industry. The same framework has largely remained in place ever since, resulting in a vast increase in the number of excavations and the proliferation of commercial archaeological units competing for work. Of course, the consequences of PPG16 and the ways it has altered the pursuit of archaeology are a whole other blog… But Jean’s experiences in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, when the mechanisms for protecting archaeology were in their infancy, must have felt very different. Jean and her team were essentially on the frontline of destruction.

In the 1950s and 1960s, widespread re-development of historic towns took place across the country, largely mitigated by local archaeological societies, excavating what they could ahead of construction work. In 1961, Leicester became the first Museums Service in the Country to appoint a Field Archaeologist to undertake excavations within the town. Jean succeeded Max Hebditch (later the Director of the Museum of London) in 1965. She was certainly thrown in at the deep end, as almost her first project was the monumental task of organising excavations during the construction of Leicester’s Southgates Underpass, which cut a destructive swathe through the ancient town core.

Excavations were funded by the City Council and the Department of the Environment and had an annual budget of between £1500 and £2500. Even at the time, this barely covered the fieldwork, some finds processing and drawing, let alone the cost of writing up projects. Jean was the only permanent member of staff. The excavation team was drawn from students (paid £11 a week) and ‘volunteers’, who were given a small subsistence allowance. Site Directors frequently reported on sites in their own time, while specialists in pottery or other finds provided free expertise and might well have a day job to pay the bills.

Reading Jean’s account, published in 1992, it seems that the archaeological workers were dedicated enthusiasts, embracing the lifestyle. Small-scale excavations continued for almost five years, and there must have been some degree of experimentation to find the strategies that worked best. An early excavation method involved ‘boxes’, set out on a grid, which provided the opportunity to explore a site both in plan and vertically, by maintaining a baulk. It was not perfect; the relationships between the archaeology in the different boxes was often obscure. The system was later superseded by open-area excavation, which was more successful, allowing the connections between features to be understood. As an aside, it is interesting to see echoes of the box system at work today, where in some modern developments excavation is limited to pile footprints (and can encounter some of the same problems).

During the late 1960s, Jean was involved with excavation of several major sites, which helped re-frame our understanding of Roman Leicester, confirming the extent of the Roman town, the street pattern and the arrangement of prominent buildings within it. Sites included the Forum and Basilica; the town defences; the West Bridge; the lifting of the Peacock pavement, as well as work at Bath Lane, Silver Street and Southgate Street.

Attitudes to what was ‘important’ were very much in development and changed in line with improved excavation techniques. For example, in the early years, materials regarded as less informative, such as animal bones and ceramic building material, might be routinely discarded on site. Environmental sampling (today considered a vital source of information) was practically unheard of. And the emphasis was firmly on Roman archaeology -the later periods were vastly under-resourced by comparison. But, as the 60s gave way to the 70s, attitudes were changing.

Jean saw 1971 as a pivotal year, dominated by large-scale excavations at St Nicholas Circle, which lasted for nine months and finally focused on the medieval, finding traces of buildings, as well as the Roman remains. This was also the site on which many other notable Leicester archaeologists first appeared on the scene, including Peter Liddle, Terry Pearce and Patrick Clay (who recalls that he was paid £2 a day in 1973, rising to £3 in 1974!).

Nationally, there was continuing disquiet over the speed at which development was destroying archaeological remains. This resulted in the creation of RESCUE, the British Archaeological Trust, of which Jean was a keen advocate (later becoming the author of numerous articles in RESCUE News). In Leicester, local government re-organisation gave the Museums Service archaeological responsibility for the whole of the county. So, for the first time, publicly funded excavations were taking place outside the town. This called for new posts, including a permanent site team, (which now included other renowned Leicester archaeologists, such as John Lucas and Debbie Sawday). Attempts to address inadequate resourcing resulted in the formation of archaeological field units across the country, funded by the Department of the Environment. In 1976, the Leicester Archaeological Unit was born, with Jean Mellor at its helm.

The employment package was initially far from attractive, with very poor wages and no sick or holiday pay. Her colleague Patrick Clay remembers that Jean ‘fought our corner to support us in getting proper contracts in 1975, re-gradings in 1978 and when our posts were threatened in 1982.’ Through this period, Jean co-ordinated another batch of exciting sites, including the Austin Friars from 1973-76 (which saw the first programme of systematic sampling for environmental remains) and the Norfolk Street Roman villa, both of which witnessed high levels of public interest. There were further improvements in technique and greater finds retention (bringing increased storage problems). You can also start to see the beginnings of a new relationship with construction – Jean recalled that a trench excavated across the Defences in the Newarke Houses car park was influenced by the location of the proposed development, rather than being led by the archaeology. Jean’s own role became more administrative, overseeing a large number of projects and more staff were recruited, including Richard Buckley (later director of ULAS, along with Patrick Clay).

The archaeological framework became more formal as the 1980s continued; national bodies such as English Heritage were created, archaeologists became embedded within the planning system and in the late 1980s there was an increase in developer-funded sites. There was no slowdown in either construction or discovery, including major excavations prior to construction of the Shires shopping centre (later Highcross). Huge efforts were put into engaging the public – which Jean recognised as vital – and included ‘peepholes’ cut into the hoardings around the site. Jean retired after the Leicester Archaeological Unit was closed in 1995 (later reborn as University of Leicester Archaeological Services). She continued to write and campaign for RESCUE, becoming Editor of RESCUE News in the early 2000s.

Jean’s tenure witnessed the exponential expansion of the archaeological service, overseeing improvements in wages and job security. She also produced major publications on the excavation of the Forum (Hebditch and Mellor 1973); the Austin Friars and South Croxton (Mellor and Pearce 1981; Pearce and Mellor 1986), as well as a host of smaller papers.

She was a passionate and dedicated advocate for archaeology and an inclusive boss who allowed her staff to develop their own interests and specialisms. Her career spanned an almost continuous evolution of archaeological practice and rapidly shifting goalposts, requiring adaptability and pragmatism in the face of great challenges. Her body of work and that of her team, has made an immense contribution to the study of Leicestershire’s past and underpinned our subsequent discoveries. Today Leicester is one of the most excavated cities in Britain and the lineage of strong archaeological work continues.

References and further reading

Hebditch, M and Mellor, JE 1973: The Forum and Basilica of Roman Leicester, in Britannia 4,1-83

Mellor, JE and Pearce, TC 1981: The Austin Friars, Leicester. CBA Research Report 35

Mellor, JE 1969 Excavations in Leicester 1965-1968, Transactions 44, 1-10

Mellor, JE 1992: The First Twenty Five Years: Archaeology in Leicestershire 1965 – 1990, Transactions 66, 93 -104

Pearce, TC and Mellor, JE 1986: Excavations at North Manor Farm, South Croxton Leicestershire