AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE LIFE OF A.D. PASSMORE 283 
about what he believed to be true. It is hoped that 
the above biographical account has adequately 
demonstrated that he is worthy of being 
remembered for his contributions to the 
archaeology of Wiltshire, and that he deserves a 
respected place in the history of the WANHS. 
Part of what made Passmore a unique character 
in archaeological history is that his life span 
bridged two eras: that of the antiquarian amateur 
archaeologist, and the introduction of modern 
professional archaeological practice. He 
demonstrated many qualities of these conflicting 
roles. His fieldwork can be criticized by modern 
standards, but he believed in publishing his 
archaeological fieldwork as well as the objects he 
acquired. His field notebook contains detailed notes 
on almost all of his excavating activities, including 
plans and some stratigraphic sections. Passmore 
also understood the importance of recording the 
past as it was destroyed by modern development. 
Passmore has been criticized for purchasing 
objects not reported under the then Treasure Trove 
law (Robinson 1984). Under Treasure Trove’ the 
right to confiscate finds was sometimes given to 
various ‘worthy’ individuals acting on behalf of 
the Crown (Longworth 1993). According to 
entries in Passmore’s field notebook, these local 
stewards were sometimes not wholly trustworthy. 
He recorded situations in which finds were taken 
by a local steward and the finder left without 
reward (ADP unpublished, 300 — 301). In the 
situation described by Robinson, Passmore had 
purchased silver spoons that had not been 
reported as a possible Treasure Trove find and 
therefore not subjected to an inquest. It seems 
clear that the finder of the spoons in question was 
going to sell the objects. While this does not 
excuse Passmore, it is hard to believe that he had 
malicious intent as he recorded their discovery 
and purchase in his field notebook, and wrote of 
the spoons in letters (Robinson 1984), a course of 
action unlikely if he had set out with criminal 
intent to break the law. 
Passmore has also been accused of falsifying 
find-spots in his publications. He openly admitted 
that he used a code to record find-spots for objects 
on display in his collection, but the key to 
deciphering these symbols was listed in his field 
notebook. His explanation for using what could be 
interpreted as a ‘secretive’ system was that when he 
had some people over to look at his collection they 
immediately went and plundered the sites that his 
objects were from (ADP unpublished, 700). 
Despite Wiltshire being the provenance for a 
large part of Passmore’s collection he ultimately felt 
that the Ashmolean Museum was the most suitable 
institution to receive his collection. In a letter to 
Donald Harden, Passmore wrote, ‘.. . I now walk 
round my empty museum and think after 70 years 
of wandering around Wiltshire it is no light thing to 
part with my hard earned treasure, every week end 
[sic] wet or fine I walked to Avebury from Swindon 
and after a turn round the downs walked back full 
of bread cheese & beer, always more than a thirty 
mile walk...’ (Passmore ASH, 24 October, 1955). To 
accept the collection was to accept Passmore. For all 
his efforts, he seems to have felt that he had been 
treated as an inferior by the ‘great and the good’ of 
Wiltshire. The Ashmolean Museum, with a history 
of receiving visitors and scholars alike, had an 
expansive world-view more in accordance with 
what Passmore expected from the guardians of his 
cherished objects. Moreover, perhaps one of the 
most important factors to A.D. Passmore was that 
the Ashmolean Museum lay beyond the confines of 
Wiltshire and the WANHS. 
Acknowledgements 
I would like to thank everyone who encouraged my 
interest in A.D. Passmore, particularly Alison 
Roberts, Arthur Macgregor and Rachel John in the 
Department of Antiquities at the Ashmolean 
Museum; and especially Humphrey Case, without 
whom the Passmore Collection would have been lost 
forever. I would like to thank the English Heritage 
National Monuments Record Centre in Swindon for 
permission to use the photograph of Callas House; 
Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History 
Museum and the Visitors of the Ashmolean Museum 
for allowing me to reproduce images and pages from 
Passmore’s field notebook; and Eva Oledzka at the 
British Museum for her time and effort in helping to 
locate Passmore’s letters in their archives. 
Epilogue 
Members of the Wiltshire Archaeological and 
Natural Hisiory Society who have any information 
or memories of Passmore might like to correspond 
with the author to fill in details in his biography. 
Using primarily archival sources, there is great 
potential for adding valuable information to the 
documentation of the objects in his collection. 
