[7], In February 2012 it was reported that Aston had left Time Team. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode featured a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining the process in lay terms. A keen populariser of the discipline, Aston was widely known for appearing as the resident academic on the Channel 4 television series Time Team from 1994 to 2011. Time Team's new book Dig Village encourages everyone to discover more about the local history on their own doorsteps. [23], Time Team was first broadcast in 1994, and would attract around four million viewers per episode, with Aston becoming "an icon to the viewing public. Time Team: Tony Robinson, Mick Aston, Phil Harding, Carenza Lewis, Helen Geake, John Gater, Stewart Ainsworth, Robin Bush
"[11][46] A self-described "solitary person", he found it somewhat annoying being a television celebrity and being recognised by members of the public. [32], Aston retired from Bristol University in 2004, subsequently becoming Professor Emeritus. "[5], In British Archaeology magazine, Aston was described as "the Mortimer Wheeler of our times" because, despite strong differences between their personalities, both had done much to bring archaeology to the British public. [17] In 1979 he returned to the West Country as tutor in archaeology at the University of Bristol's Extra-Mural Department,[2][8][18] through which he organised weekend and evening courses throughout the region, introducing thousands of interested people to archaeology. I am still waiting for the Time Team special that Tony had mentioned on a website page to honor Mick. He was one of the best academic archaeologists in the country, yet his real love was teaching ordinary people. The experience sent him into depression for eighteen months, during which time he read the autobiography of actress Jane Lapotaire, who had gone through the same experience, something which he believed aided his recovery more than anything else. [1][9] His dissertation was on the development of settlement in the West Penwith peninsula in Cornwall. [15][43][44] He supported a number of charities and other causes, including Greenpeace, the Woodland Trust, Oxfam and Sightsavers International. In 1970, he began his career working for the Oxford City and County Museum and there began his work in public outreach by running extramural classes in archaeology and presenting a series on the subject for Radio Oxford. Right here, you’ll find all the latest Time Team news and a whole host of classic content from the last 25 years, including some of our favourite masterclasses from Phil Harding and the late Mick Aston. "[36], In July, 2012, Aston received a lifetime achievement award at the British Archaeological Awards, with Bristol University's Professor Mark Horton praising him for making "the past accessible to all". With Tony Robinson, Phil Harding, John Gater, Stewart Ainsworth. "[7] Writing for the website of Antiquity, Christopher Gerrard described him as "perhaps the best-known face in British archaeology", adding that "in so many different areas of medieval archaeology his legacy will live on.
[1][2][11][16] That year he co-ran his first study tour to Greece with Peter Hardy; he would continue to run these annually for a number of years, most often visiting Santorini.
[40], Aston was known for his "unfailing commitment and integrity", with his life being dominated by "old-fashioned idealism and loyalty". Right here, you’ll find all the latest Time Team news and a whole host of classic content from the last 25 years, including some of our favourite masterclasses from Phil Harding and the late Mick Aston. [7] He would subsequently be instrumental in setting up the master's degree in archaeology and screen media at the department. [28] He was a vegetarian and a naturist,[2][11] as well as an anarchist and an atheist. You can also visit our shop for a range of official merchandise, from books to T-shirts. [2][3] His father gave him two books on archaeology as a Christmas present, and he subsequently spent much time visiting archaeological sites, sometimes playing truant to do so. "[48] He also noted that "archaeology is now a subject that tens of thousands of people enjoy and value, and this is almost solely down to him. [26] In autumn 1998, Channel 4 started a Time Team fan club, which had 16,000 members within a few months,[26] while Aston became a supporter of the Council for British Archaeology's Young Archaeologists' Club (YAC), and with Harding gave regular talks to YAC branches. A group of archaeologists have 3 days to discover historical artifacts in different sites around Britain. I miss Mick to. The ground-breaking history series presented by Tony Robinson helped to popularise the field of archaeology and has since been watched in over 35 countries worldwide! "[8] Tony Robinson wrote of him: "Mick was a real child of the '60s and a bit of a rebel, but he was also a series of contradictions. "[24], Aston commented that throughout his life he suffered from poor health; he was afflicted with aspergillosis from the early 1980s,[2][25] and was also asthmatic. Team. There is a lot less archaeological content and a lot more pratting about. [27] Aston found himself giving up to 20 public lectures a year on the subject of Time Team, describing the public feedback as "embarrassingly encouraging". ", "Exclusive interview – Mick Aston: an archaeological journey", "Mick Aston, ex-Time Team expert, dies aged 66", "Professor Mick Aston: Why I quit Time Team, and the danger of losing touch with our history", "Professor Mick Aston quits Time Team over 'dumbing down' row", "Lifetime achievement award for Mick Aston", "Professor Mick Aston backs revamp of Somerset Rural Life Museum at Glastonbury", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Aston, Michael Antony, "Time Team's Mick Aston to receive More4 tribute night", "Mick Aston: Archaeologist who found television fame on 'Time Team, "In profile: the life of Time Team archaeologist Mick Aston", "Bronze bust unveiled of Time Team presenter and university archaeology professor", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mick_Aston&oldid=982925464, Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 11 October 2020, at 06:13. "[49] Fellow archaeologist Mark Horton stated: "Mick was such an amazing archaeologist in so many different ways." [7][8][11] He was also appointed an Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of Exeter, University of Durham, and the University of Worcester. [7] In 2006 Aston began writing a regular column, "Mick's Travels", for the bimonthly journal British Archaeology, the publication of the Council for British Archaeology. "[15], His hobbies included gardening, pottery, astronomy, listening to classical music and cooking. Join us for Teatime watch-along on Sunday evenings, followed by exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews, masterclasses and more. [7][14] Becoming a pioneer of landscape archaeology, along with Trevor Rowley he was responsible for coining the term in their 1974 book, Landscape Archaeology.
[5] He commented that this was the case because Britain's archaeological community had failed to develop the work that he had done with Time Team and with extramural teaching, and that all the public outreach he had accomplished would die with him. In 1996 he was appointed to the specially-created post of Professor of Landscape Archaeology at Bristol University, and undertook a ten-year project investigating the manor at Shapwick, Somerset. Time Team (TV Series 1994–2014) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more.
Archaeologist Mick Aston has walked out of Time Team after 19 years – after producers hired a former model as the programme’s co-presenter. Based around the fictional British town of Timechester, the book looks at how the settlement would have progressed from the Palaeolithic through to the modern day, and examines the remains that each period would have left behind in the archaeological record. [2][7][8] That year, the University of Winchester awarded him an honorary Doctor of Letters. Aston was born on 1 July 1946 into a working-class family in Oldbury, Worcestershire, to cabinet-maker Harold Aston and his wife Gladys. Tim Taylor; Tony Robinson; Mick Aston (1946-2013) Phil Harding; John Gater; Henry Chapman; Victor Ambrus; Stewart Ainsworth; Carenza Lewis; Helen Geake; Francis Pryor MBE; News; Shop