Phoebe Keef

P. A. M. Keef
FSAS
Born1898
Amritsar, India
Died1978(1978-00-00) (aged 79–80)
Academic work
DisciplineArchaeology
Institutions

Phoebe Keef (1898–1978) was a field archaeologist and was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 1938. She directed several excavations, including work at East Dean Park and Harting Beacon, both in Sussex.

Biography

Keef was born in Amritsar in 1898, during the British Raj, and her family later moved to England where she went to school. Keef's father died when she was 3 years old. During the First World War, Keef worked for the YMCA and the St John's Ambulance, and received a medal for her work with the YMCA.

In 1934 Keef completed a diploma in archaeology, studying at University College London. In 1938 she volunteered at the excavation of Angmering Roman villa. She also excavated at Chester hill fort in Scotland in 1939.

Keef worked at a hospital during the Second World War, and was a hospital librarian, but in 1941 was allowed time away from the hospital to join excavations at Angmering. Two years later she took part in 'The Conference on the Future of Archaeology' at the Institute of Archaeology in London, contributing to a discussion on the role of archaeological societies.

Keef directed excavations at the hillfort known as Harting Beacon between 1948 and 1952; the results were largely unpublished aside from a note in The Antiquaries Journal, however, Owen Bedwin later published a summary of the excavations in the Sussex Archaeological Collections based on Keef's notes accessed after her death. Keef ran the West Sussex excavation group. With the group she excavated a Romano-British farmstead near Lambs Lea in Sussex in 1953–54.

Selected publications

Notes

  1. ↑ The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland reported Keef's death during 1978–79.

References

  1. 1 2 3 McInnes, James (2016), "East Dean: a home for the High Woods", in Manley, John (ed.), Secrets of the High Woods: Revealing Hidden Landscapes (PDF), South Downs National Park Authority, pp. 86–87, ISBN 978-1-5272-0302-0, retrieved 31 August 2021
  2. ↑ "Anniversary meeting: 30 November 1979". Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 1981. doi:10.9750/PSAS.110.554.560.
  3. 1 2 3 Phillips, Pauline (1998). "The participation of women in the journal Sussex Archaeological Collections 1900-1950". Sussex Archaeological Collections. 136: 141. doi:10.5284/1085032.
  4. 1 2 Bedwin, Owen (1983). "Miss P. A. M. Keef's Excavations at Harting Beacon and nearby sites 1948-1952" (PDF). Sussex Archaeological Collections. 121: 199–202.
  5. ↑ "Catalogue description: Medal card of Keef, Phoebe A M. Corps:Young Mens Christian Association". WO - Records created or inherited by the War Office, Armed Forces, Judge Advocate General, and related bodies. The National Archives. WO 372/23/22924. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  6. ↑ "Phoebe Alice Marion Keef". beyond-notability.wikibase.cloud. Retrieved 1 February 2025.; citing London University Gazette Supplement Wed 31 July 1935 (London Uni Gazette 1934-1935, UP 1/3/31)
  7. ↑ Keef, Phoebe A M (30 November 1948). "Excavations at Chester Hill Fort, Hundleshope, in Manor Parish, 1939". Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 80: 66–73. doi:10.9750/PSAS.080.66.73. ISSN 2056-743X.
  8. ↑ Moshenska, Gabriel (2013). "Reflections on the 1943 'Conference on the Future of Archaeology'". Archaeology International. 16 (1). doi:10.5334/ai.1606. ISSN 1463-1725.
  9. ↑ Thornton, Amara (12 March 2021). "Going Back to the Future (of Archaeology)". Reading Room Notes. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  10. ↑ Gilkes, Oliver J. (1990). "Miss P. A. M. Keef's Excavations on a Roman Farmstead at Lambs Lea, West Sussex" (PDF). Sussex Archaeological Collections. 128: 246–249.