{"id":709,"date":"2024-02-20T12:10:12","date_gmt":"2024-02-20T12:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/?p=709"},"modified":"2024-08-31T17:05:52","modified_gmt":"2024-08-31T16:05:52","slug":"maud-cunnington-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/2024\/02\/20\/maud-cunnington-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Maud Cunnington (part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In this blog post, Maddie Watson, a finalist Modern History and Politics<\/a> student at the University of Southampton, introduces their work on Maud Cunnington as part of their Beyond Notability Internship, run by Southampton Digital Humanities<\/a>. In this part, Maddie discusses their encounter with Maud via linked data and their exploration of her work as an archaeologist.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second part of the blog can be read here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I discovered Maud Cunnington<\/a> on my first day working on the Beyond Notability Project in November 2023. She left an indelible mark on Wiltshire with excavations dating back to 1897, conducted alongside her husband, Ben Cunnington<\/a>. Maud was used as an example when teaching me to create linked data, and I recognised that she lived in Devizes (my hometown). My interest was immediately piqued due to my curiosity about local history, as well as the evidence of her extensive work in archaeology. Before engaging with this internship, my academic background did not encompass any direct engagement with archaeological studies. Therefore, I was surprised by the extent of women\u2019s participation in the field, exemplified by the data the Beyond Notability project have assembled about Maud, particularly given the considerable gendered barriers to achieving such involvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Wiltshire Museum, Devizes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As I delved deeper into the project and entered more data, I discovered places that Maud had excavated, lived, or worked at, that I also recognised. For example, her involvement with the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society<\/a> (WANHS) connected her to the Wiltshire Museum<\/a>, where I spent much time as a child and now volunteer. To enrich the narratives of women active in archaeology, the Wiltshire Museum displays many artefacts unearthed by Maud, alongside her writing desk and information regarding her excavations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the Christmas holiday, as I embarked on the journey to explore sites associated with Maud, I found myself traversing familiar paths of my childhood and teenage years. The places that were once a backdrop to my adventures gained a new significance, layered with her historical presence. Walking through these sites, I couldn\u2019t help but feel a connection to both the past and present. The playgrounds of my youth now shared space with the echoes of an accomplished archaeologist who had left her mark on the ground I once explored with boundless curiosity. It encouraged me to reflect on Maud\u2019s legacy, as well as how our experiences as women undoubtedly differed despite similarities in our academic disciplines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an intern, the journey of adding various women to the Beyond Notability database has been an enlightening process allowing me to compare the contributions of women in the archaeological field. Sharon Howard\u2019s visualisations of Beyond Notability project data<\/a> have greatly assisted with understanding general trends in categories of contribution, such as correspondence, excavations, and work. From this, I have been able to interpret how women\u2019s contributions interlink. For example, Maud\u2019s excavations between 1908 and 1930 were atypical, as according to the data we have assembled few women who partook in such activity during this period. However, for the same date range, the correspondence category suggests that women more commonly contributed to the field by reporting to and communicating with various archaeological committees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Themes of gender, social standing, and personal tragedy unfolded as I examined Maud\u2019s contribution to archaeology through the lens of three pivotal excavations: Oliver\u2019s Camp<\/a> (1907), All Canning\u2019s Cross<\/a> (1911), and Woodhenge<\/a> (1926). Maud\u2019s educated, middle-class background and marriage into an equally sheltered line of Wiltshire antiquarians made archaeology an accessible vocation in comparison to women of a lower socio-economic background. Particularly, her residence at 33 Long Street, Devizes, with its distinctive Georgian architectural features and central location, served as a tangible testament to her high social standing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
33 Long Street, Devizes. Previous home of Maud Cunnington.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Historian Julia Roberts quotes Maud\u2019s nephew, Colonel R.H. Cunnington, to exemplify prevailing attitudes towards female participation in the field in the 19th<\/sup> and 20th<\/sup> centuries:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018\u2026 a man ought to know any language or science he learns thoroughly: while a woman ought to know the same language and science only so far as may enable her to sympathise in her husband\u2019s pleasure\u2019 (Roberts, 2002, 47).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prevailing perspective suggested that female participation in disciplines such as archaeology primarily held significance to humour her husband\u2019s interests. Such limiting views fail to explain Maud\u2019s unbounded enthusiasm for the discipline and highlight the lack of expectation for women to cultivate a personal interest in archaeology, as well as diminishing the recognition of their achievements. Maud became a member of WANHS in 1907, despite the members lists revealing very few women were involved alongside her. On the Beyond Notability database, only six other women are recorded as connected to WANHS<\/a> at a similar time to Maud, and only three women are in the database as members of the society (though these numbers are skewed by archival research that has focuses on national bodies). The Beyond Notability project has unearthed a long-standing presence of women in the field who worked alongside their husbands. However, evidence of independent publishing suggests that these women were active participants contributing to the advancement of archaeological knowledge. Particularly, Maud\u2019s publications underscored the fallacy of women\u2019s involvement in the discipline to appease their husband\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roberts contends that Maud\u2019s accomplishments are overshadowed by her polarising personality, given that it countered traditional feminine values centred around domesticity and subservience. I find this to be an outdated argument, as Maud and the other women noted on the the Beyond Notability Wikibase<\/a> are evidence of women of all classes engaging in roles outside of the home, therefore subverting the dominant \u2018angel of the house\u2019 narrative. Maud\u2019s work faced continual dismissal by new male archaeologists, such as Alexander Keiller<\/a> and Stuart Piggott<\/a>, who found her difficult to work with due to differences in methods of record-taking and excavation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keiller began his involvement in archaeological work in 1922, while Piggott initiated his in 1927 on leaving school, a period spanning 25-30 years after Maud\u2019s involvement commencing in 1897. Their dismissal of Maud is representative of a generational shift, though undoubtedly, these difficulties were exacerbated by Maud\u2019s seemingly somewhat cantankerous personality. Overall, women had been active in archaeology for many years before Keiller and Piggott joined the scene in the 1920s, though it should not be discounted that attitudes towards women in the field were characterised by tolerance rather than genuine acceptance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second part of the Maddie\u2019s blog on Maud Cunnington can be read here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

List of works consulted:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historic England (1972) 33 and 33A, Long Street<\/em>. Available at: https:\/\/historicengland.org.uk\/listing\/the-list\/list-entry\/1263549?section=official-list-entry<\/a> (Accessed: 6 February 2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Howard, S. (2023) \u2018PPAs and change over time\u2019, BN notes<\/em>, 12 December. Available at: https:\/\/sharonhoward.org\/bn\/bn_notes\/posts\/ppa-2023-12-08\/<\/a> (Accessed: 1 February 2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moshenska, G. (2016) \u2018Maud Cunnington\u2019, Trowelblazers<\/em>, 16 April. Available at: https:\/\/trowelblazers.com\/2016\/04\/14\/maud-cunnington\/<\/a> (Accessed: 16 January 2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roberts, J. (2002) \u2018That terrible woman\u2019: the life, work and legacy of Maud Cunnington\u2019, The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine<\/em>, 95, pp. 46-62.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith, B. (2000) The Gender of History: Men, Women, and Historical Practice. <\/em>Harvard: Harvard University Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taylor, H. (n.d.) Six Groundbreaking Female Archaeologists.<\/em> Available at: https:\/\/www.english-heritage.org.uk\/learn\/histories\/women-in-history\/six-groundbreaking-female-archaeologists\/<\/a> (Accessed: 16 January 2024).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this blog post, Maddie Watson, a finalist Modern History and Politics student at the University of Southampton, introduces their work on Maud Cunnington as part of their Beyond Notability Internship, run by Southampton Digital Humanities. In this part, Maddie discusses their encounter with Maud via linked data and their exploration of her work as an archaeologist. The second part of the blog …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6184,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-notes-from-the-archive","column","threecol"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9DnLX-br","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":47,"url":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/2018\/01\/31\/the-southampton-stonewall-lecture\/","url_meta":{"origin":709,"position":0},"title":"The Southampton Stonewall Lecture","author":"George Gilbert","date":"31st January 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"15 February 2018, 6pm Part of the annual series of lectures organised by the Faculty of Humanities.\u00a0This year's Stonewall Lecture will be give by Professor Alison Oram, Professor of Social and Cultural History at Leeds Beckett University. 'Queer beyond London: Culture and Place in English Cities since the 1960s' How\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/236\/2018\/01\/Alison-Oram-pic-2_cropped.jpg_SIA_JPG_fit_to_width_MEDIUM-300x186.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":369,"url":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/2019\/03\/06\/interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-dr-louise-fairbrother\/","url_meta":{"origin":709,"position":1},"title":"Interview with recent PhD graduate, Dr Louise Fairbrother","author":"Jonathan Hunt","date":"6th March 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"What was the subject of your research? My research looked in detail at how the town governments of Southampton and various other English towns organised their industry and trade in the sixteenth century.\u00a0 It focussed specifically on the way in which they controlled the groups involved.\u00a0 In Southampton\u2019s case, this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Meet the Department"","block_context":{"text":"Meet the Department","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/category\/meet-the-department\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/236\/2019\/03\/Picture1-300x300.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":694,"url":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/2024\/01\/23\/the-letters-and-diaries-of-else-and-siegfried-behrend-rosenfeld-in-performance-southampton-holocaust-and-genocide-memorial-day-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":709,"position":2},"title":"The Letters and Diaries of Else and Siegfried Behrend-Rosenfeld in Performance – Southampton Holocaust and Genocide Memorial Day 2024","author":"Charlie Knight","date":"23rd January 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"On 25th January 2024 on behalf of the city of Southampton, the Parkes Institute at the University of Southampton alongside Solent University will be hosting our annual Holocaust Memorial Day event. The evening will feature the testimony of Marie-Chantal Uwamahoro, a survivor of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes from the archive"","block_context":{"text":"Notes from the archive","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/category\/notes-from-the-archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photograph of Else Behrend-Rosenfeld","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/236\/2024\/01\/Else_Behrend_Rosenfeld.jpg?fit=823%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/236\/2024\/01\/Else_Behrend_Rosenfeld.jpg?fit=823%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/236\/2024\/01\/Else_Behrend_Rosenfeld.jpg?fit=823%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/236\/2024\/01\/Else_Behrend_Rosenfeld.jpg?fit=823%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":218,"url":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/2018\/07\/19\/the-final-and-fateful-sojourn-of-the-iranian-revolutionary-and-scholar-dr-ali-shariati-1933-1977-in-southampton\/","url_meta":{"origin":709,"position":3},"title":"The final and fateful sojourn of the Iranian Revolutionary and Scholar, Dr Ali Shariati (1933-1977), in Southampton","author":"Remy Ambuhl","date":"19th July 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This year, as part of the group project module, my students* explored the brief stay, in Southampton, of Dr Ali Shariati, who is recognised as the ideological father of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. His short stay in the UK and unexpected death on 18 June 1977 have been shrouded in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes from the archive"","block_context":{"text":"Notes from the archive","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/category\/notes-from-the-archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/236\/2018\/07\/shariati.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":506,"url":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/2020\/09\/14\/professor-chris-woolgar-fellow-of-the-british-academy\/","url_meta":{"origin":709,"position":4},"title":"Professor Chris Woolgar, Fellow of the British Academy","author":"Jonathan Hunt","date":"14th September 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"In this year of pandemic and distancing, the Southampton history department is united in pleasure and appreciation at the election of our colleague, Professor Chris Woolgar, as a Fellow of the British Academy. This is a rare and high honour, which is given to a few of the most influential,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes from the archive"","block_context":{"text":"Notes from the archive","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/category\/notes-from-the-archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/236\/2020\/09\/Chris-Woolgar-web-image.jpg_SIA_JPG_fit_to_width_INLINE.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":64,"url":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/2018\/01\/31\/staff-qa-alan-ross\/","url_meta":{"origin":709,"position":5},"title":"Staff Q&A: Alan Ross","author":"George Gilbert","date":"31st January 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, we have another interview, this time with Dr Alan Ross. History at Southampton: How would you describe yourself as a historian? Alan Ross: I tend to think of myself as a traditional Classicist: I use detailed linguistic and textual interrogation of ancient authors to answer literary, philosophical, and historical\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Meet the Department"","block_context":{"text":"Meet the Department","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/category\/meet-the-department\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=709"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":710,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709\/revisions\/710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}