British historian
Edith Mary Wightman FSA (1 January 1938 – 17 December 1983) was a British ancient historian and archaeologist. She was Assistant-Professor and then Professor at McMaster University (1969–1983). Wightman was best known for her studies "Roman Trier" and "Gallia Belgica".
Biography.
Edith Mary Wightman was born on 1 January 1938 in Scotland, the daughter of R. J. and Edith W. Wightman. She undertook undergraduate studies at the University of St Andrews, receiving her MA in 1960. Next, she studied in Oxford with Ian Richmond and C.E. Stevens, receiving a diploma in Classical Archaeology in 1962, and a DPhil in 1968. Her dissertation on Roman Trier and the Treveri was published as a monograph in 1970. Wightman lectured at the University of Leicester from 1965 to 1969, before joining the Department of History at McMaster University in 1969, replacing her predecessor Edward Togo Salmon as Professor of Ancient History.
Wightman undertook archaeological fieldwork in the Mediterranean as part of three projects; at Monte Irsi under the direction of Alaster Small, as co-director of the Second Canadian Team excavations at Carthage alongside Colin Wells, and as the director of the multidisciplinary field survey project in the Liri Valley, Italy.
Wightman's work has been described as a "model of how to combine literary, epigraphic, and archaeological data with caution and imagination Research for "Gallia Belgica" involved annual research visits to archaeological institutes in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Her posthumously published survey of Gallia Belgica has been described as "magisterial", and John Percival stated that "it is hard to think of a better study of an individual Roman province in terms of comprehensiveness and reliability". Underlying her work was a "concern for the Roman countryside and its population". She was noted for her skill as a researcher and as a teacher, and as "a much loved and respected scholar".
Death.
Wightman was murdered on 17 December 1983 in her office at McMaster University. She was found lying on the floor with her eyes and mouth bound with surgical tape and her hands handcuffed behind her back. According to the police, credit cards were missing and robbery was probably the motive for the killing. A 27-year-old chemist was charged with the murder some weeks later.
Honours.
Wightman was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1973, a foreign associate member of the Société des Antiquaires de France in 1976, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1982.
References.
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