Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 97 (2004), pp. 273-92 
An Investigation into the Life of A.D. Passmore, 
‘A Most Curious Specimen’ 
by Laura Phillips 
A biographical account of the Wiltshire archaeologist Arthur Dennis Passmore (1877 — 1958) is presented, together 
with an assessment of his fieldwork, and a discussion of his collecting activities. Far from being a rogue antiques 
dealer, as he is remembered, he should be regarded as a man with a passionate interest in recording the history of North 
Wiltshire, who contributed significantly to the archaeological study of the county. Lists of his published output and the 
present whereabouts of his collection are appended. 
While looking round and collecting objects of 
interest in this neighbourhood, I have often noticed 
little things, which, while not important enough at 
the time to report in any paper or magazine may in 
the light of future discoveries be of great value. 
Therefore I am filling this volume with little notes 
which when completed may find a resting place in 
some museum where the archaeologists of a future 
time may peruse it with advantage.' (ADP 
unpublished 1903, i) 
INTRODUCTION 
During summer 2002, as an intern in the 
Department of Antiquities at the Ashmolean 
Museum in Oxford, one of my duties was to engage 
in research for a public enquiry into their 
collections from Stonehenge. The majority of 
- Stonehenge material at the Ashmolean is noted in 
the Accession Register as being from the collection 
of Mr. A.D. Passmore. The objects held ranged 
from worked flints from Wiltshire to Acheulian 
hand-axes from Egypt. Letters relating to his 
collection do not supply information about the 
collector. Humphrey Case, former Keeper of the 
Department, discussed with me the circumstances 
surrounding the collection being donated to the 
Ashmolean, and encouraged me to continue the 
investigation described here. 
In the Epilogue to his Encyclopaedia of 
Archaeology: The Great Archaeologists, Tim Murray 
emphasises that there are many ‘hidden histories of 
archaeology (Murray 1999a, 877). One of his 
examples is the contribution of 20th-century 
amateur archaeologists before the ‘professional- 
isation’ of archaeology (Murray 1999a). Amateur 
archaeology in Wiltshire is no exception to this (see 
for example the recent biographical studies of 
Alexander Keiller (Murray 1999c) and Maud 
Cunnington (Roberts 2002)). This paper focuses on 
the life and achievements of a contemporary of the 
Cunningtons and Keiller, Arthur Dennis Passmore 
(21877 — 1958). Despite being an active member of 
the Wiltshire archaeological community from the 
early 1880s until the mid 1950s, a period of almost 
80 years, there has been no major study or indeed 
even proper local recognition of his life, nor of his 
extensive collection of local archaeological 
material. 
Passmore was a member of many scholarly 
societies, including the Wiltshire Archaeological 
and Natural History Society; The British 
Numismatic Society; The Royal Anthropological 
Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PP 
