Molly Cotton

Mary Aylwin Marshall, known as Molly Cotton, OBE, FSA, Hon FBA (born 1902, died 1984)[1] was a British archaeologist, noted for her work in Iron Age Britain and Roman Italy.

Biography

Cotton was one of the first students to take the postgraduate diploma in archaeology at the recently founded Institute of Archaeology, London. She became deputy director of excavations at Maiden Castle in 1936 alongside Mortimer Wheeler, following the death of Tessa Wheeler.[1] She undertook excavations on the defences of Silchester from 1938–9.[2]

Cotton worked at the Ministry of Economic Warfare during World War II and received the OBE in 1945.[1]

In 1949 she co-directed excavations at Verulamium alongside Mortimer Wheeler and excavated at Clausentum from 1951–54.[3]

In the 1960s Cotton became closely involved in the work of the British School at Rome. She was the field director of the first 'scientific' excavations of a Republican villa in Italy, directed by John Bryan Ward-Perkins and Peter von Blanckenhagen, "but essentially the project was hers".[1] The excavations at Posto and San Rocco (1962–65) were fully published.[4][5] From 1965, when her husband died, Cotton was resident in Rome, and ran the archaeological work room of the British School at Rome,[1] including work on the finds from the cemetery of Quattro Fontanili at Veii, Monte Irsi, Basilicata (1970) and Tuscania (1972-73).

In her later years, Cotton continued to work on Latian archaeology, whilst continuing to attend conferences.[1] She received an honorary fellowship of the British Academy in 1980.[6]

Dr M. Alywin Cotton Foundation

The Dr M. Alywin Cotton Foundation was established in 1972, in order to provide fellowships and publication grants to scholars in the fields of history, archaeology, Mediterranean art, architecture and language.[1]

Publications
  • Cotton, M. 1947. Excavations at Silchester 1938–9. Archaeologia 92: 121–167.
  • Cotton, M. 1979. The Late Republican Villa at Posto Francolise. London: British School at Rome.
  • Cotton, M. and Gathercole, P. 1958. Excavations at Clausentum, Southampton, 1951–1954. London: H.M. Stationery Office.
  • Cotton, M. and Métraux, G. 1985. The San Rocco villa at Francolise. London: British School at Rome.
  • Wheeler, M., Richardson, K. and Cotton, M. 1957. Hill-forts of Northern France. Oxford: Printed at the University Press by Charles Batey for the Society of Antiquaries, London

Personal life

Mary Aylwin Marshall was born in 1902. She trained in medicine at the London School of Medicine for Women and St Mary's Hospital. In 1928, Marshall (as she was then) married Thomas Forrest Cotton. She retired from medicine at this point, though remained an honorary medical advisor to the National Children's Adoption Society until 1936.[7]

References
  1. Potter, T. 1984. M. Aylwin Cotton, O.B.E., Hon. F.B.A. F.S.A 1902-1984. Papers of the British School at Rome 52: 1-2.
  2. Cotton, M. A. 1947. Excavations at Silchester 1938-9. Archaeologia 92: 121-167.
  3. Cotton, M. and Gathercole, P. 1958. Excavations at Clausentum, Southampton, 1951-1954. London : H.M. Stationery Office.
    • Cotton, M. 1979. The Late Republican Villa at Posto Francolise. London: British School at Rome.
    • Cotton, M. and Métraux, G. 1985. The San Rocco villa at Francolise. London: British School at Rome.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2014-11-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. Kay, Stephen. "Molly Cotton". Trowelblazers. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
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