Sonia Chadwick Hawkes

Sonia Chadwick Hawkes (5 November 1933 – 30 May 1999) was a British archaeologist specialising in the archaeology of early Anglo-Saxon England.^[1] She led excavations at several archaeological sites in England and worked for Scunthorpe Museum and then the University of Oxford.

Sonia Elizabeth Chadwick was born on 5 November 1933 in Crayford. She was the only child of Albert Andrew Chadwick and Doris Chadwick (formerly Doris Benger).^[2] Sonia Chadwick took part in archaeological excavations as a school girl.^[3] She studied English at Bedford College, University of London,^[4] followed by research supervised by Vera I. Evison.^[5]

• 1956–60: led excavations at Longbridge Deverill Cow Down, a prehistoric site in Wiltshire^[7]
• 1958: catalogued finds from an excavation at Fonaby in Lincolnshire^[8]
• 1959–67: led excavations at Finglesham Anglo-Saxon cemetery in Kent^[1]
• 1961–62: led excavations at Worthy Park in Hampshire^[1]
• 1963–71: catalogued finds from the collection of Bryan Faussett, an 18th-century antiquarian^[9]
• 1976: led excavation at Updown early medieval cemetery in Kent

Chadwick's early research explored the decorated metalwork found in early medieval graves.^[1] She later focused on Anglo-Saxon cemeteries in Kent.^[4] Hawkes was one of several archaeologists working on Anglo-Saxon archaeology.^[10]

In 1958, she was appointed curator of Scunthorpe Museum.^[2] Chadwick met fellow archaeologist Christopher Hawkes when giving a talk at a conference in 1958 and they married in January 1959.^[11] She left Scunthorpe Museum in 1959 to work as a research assistant at the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Oxford, where Christopher lectured. She later become a lecturer and worked at the institute until she retired in 1994.^[2]

Hawkes was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1961.^[1] A major piece of work on Late Roman zoomorphic belt fittings, "Soldiers and settlers", prompted much debate. Written in collaboration with Gerald Dunning, the paper was also translated into German.^[1] In the 1960s, Hawkes began a reassessment of material excavated at the early medieval cemeteries at Sarre and Bifrons in the 19th century. The results were not published in her lifetime.^[1]

In 1973, Hawkes was appointed lecturer in European archaeology at the University of Oxford.^[2] Updown early medieval cemetery in Kent was discovered that year, about a mile from the Finglesham cemetery. Hawkes was interested in the site as it was near Finglesham where she had already excavated a medieval cemetery. She worked with the owners and they asked her to dig the cemetery before the East Kent Water Board ran a pipeline through the site. The work uncovered 36 graves, but digging stopped after one of the landowners died, and Hawkes spent time publishing the results of the excavation.^[12][13]

In 1979, she and James Campbell and David Brown created a book series called Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History.^[1] They also organised a talks and conferences about Anglo Saxon studies.^[9]

Sonia sometimes worked with her husband, Christopher Hawkes. Christopher joined Sonia at Longbridge Deverill for the final season of excavation in 1960.^[14] They also worked on a book together, Greeks, Celts and Romans,^[15] and an article by Joachim Werner on Sutton Hoo.^[16] Christopher's health began declining in the 1980s, and around this time Sonia and he spent time travelling in Europe.^[15] As Christopher's health worsened, Sonia spent more time caring for him and less time on research. After his death in 1992, Sonia "was tireless in ... ordering his books and papers".^[15]

Hawkes took early retirement in 1994.^[1][2] She married Svetislav Petkovic in May 1995, a retired factory inspector.^[2] Sonia Petkovic was diagnosed with cancer and died in Oxford on 30 May 1999.^[1][3]

When Hawkes died several of her projects were unfinished.^[5] Her notes were moved to the Sonia Hawkes Archive at the University of Oxford. Helena Hamerow led a project to digitise the archive.^[17][18] Some of Hawkes' works were published after she died, with other people finishing them.

In 2001, the Institute of Archaeology dedicated a plaque to the memory of Christopher and Sonia Hawkes.^[19][20] A book dedicated to Sonia Hawkes was published in 2007.^[21]

There is no list of all the things publication by Hawkes.^[22]

• Material from The Novum Inventorium Sepulchrale