Francis Pryor (right) discusses the excavation during the filming of a 2007 dig for Time Team with series editor Michael Douglas (left).

Francis Pryor is a British archaeologist who is famous for his role in the discovery of Flag Fen, a Bronze Age archeological site near Peterborough, and for his frequent appearances on the Channel 4 television series Time Team. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 476 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1175 × 1480 pixel, file size: 288 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Author: G de la Bedoyere I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 476 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1175 × 1480 pixel, file size: 288 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Author: G de la Bedoyere I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Time Team is a popular British television series explaining the process of archaeology for the layman in the UK. Broadcast by Channel 4, the programme was first shown in 1994, and is presented by Tony Robinson. ... This July 2007 does not cite any references or sources. ... Flag Fen Iron Age roundhouse reconstruction Flag Fen near Peterborough, England is a Bronze Age site, probably religious. ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... This article is about the city in England. ... This article is about the British television station. ... Time Team is a popular British television series explaining the process of archaeology for the layman in the UK. Broadcast by Channel 4, the programme was first shown in 1994, and is presented by Tony Robinson. ...

He has now retired from full-time field archaeology, but still appears on television and writes books as well as being a working farmer. His specialties are in the Bronze and Iron Ages. The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ...

Biography

In his book Seahenge, Pryor gives some autobiographical information about his career. He studied archaeology at the University of Cambridge, but left university disillusioned with the discipline and migrated to Toronto, Canada,with his first wife, Sylvia, on a landed immigrant scheme. There he started working at the Royal Ontario Museum as technician, working for Doug Tushingham who helped fund Pryor's first project in the UK. This was at North Elmham and the excavation was directed by Peter Wade-Martins who exposed Pryor to the benefit of opening large area excavations. The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the worlds most prestigious universities. ... Landed Immigrant is a formerly official classification for a person who has been admitted to Canada as a non-citizen permanent resident. ... The Royal Ontario Museum, commonly known as the ROM (rhyming with Tom), is a major museum for world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... North Elmham is a village (population 1428) in Norfolk about 8 km (5 miles) north of East Dereham on the west bank of the River Wensum. ...

Pryor returned to the UK in 1970, where the construction of the new town at Peterborough offered the opportunity to do large scale archaeology ahead of the planned development work. Between 1970 and 1978, he alternated between digs in the UK and writing up the excavation reports and giving presentations on his work in Canada. During the course of these projects, he met his second wife, an expert in pre-historic wood. He has a daughter, Amy, from his first marriage. Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A new town, planned community or planned city is a city, town, or community that was designed from scratch, and grew up more or less following the plan. ... This article is about the city in England. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ...

Works

• Francis Pryor. Seahenge: A Quest for Life and Death in Bronze Age Britain. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-710192-9.  An archaeology autobiography
• Francis Pryor. Flag Fen. Life and death of a Prehistoric Landscape. Tempus Publishing Ltd, Stroud, UK, 2005, ISBN 0-7524-2900-0. 
• Francis Pryor. Britain BC: life in Britain and Ireland before the Romans. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-712693-X. 
• Francis Pryor. Britain AD: a quest for Arthur, England and the Anglo-Saxons. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-718187-6. 
• Francis Pryor. Farmers in Prehistoric Britain. Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-1477-1. 

External links

• Francis Pryor profile from Channel 4
• Information on Francis Pryor from Flag Fen website