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Ivor Noël Hume (1927-) is a British-born archaeologist and author. He studied at Farmingham College and St. Lawrence College in England, spent a short stint in the British Army, and an assistant stage manager for a London theater, before deciding to pursue archaeology as a career and joining the staff of Guildhall Museum in London in 1949. His early speciality was 17th and 18th century wine bottles. Later, he became chief archeologist and director of the expanded Colonial Williamsburg archaeology program in 1957, and subsequently became the director of the Williamsburg Department of Archeology, until his retirement in 1988.

His achievements including a number of finds: the seventeenth century site of Wolstenholme Towne, at Carter's Grove Plantation just east of Williamsburg. Wolstenholme at Martin's Hundred was one of the early Virginia settlements after Jamestown and evidence of the 1622 Indian attack were found in the death of several of the citizens and the discovery of Thomas Harriot's "science center" on Roanoke Island, North Carolina. Major excavations in Colonial Williamsburg included work at the original site of Eastern State Mental Hospital, conducted in 1972, which was the largest site work since the excavation of the Governor's Palace in 1930, the James Geddy House and shop, Weatherburn's Tavern and outbuildings and the cabinetmakers shop.

He has been heralded by his peers as the "father" of Historical Archaeology. When he began his career, "historical archaeology did not exist as an academic discipline. It fell to Noel Hume's books, lectures, and television presentations to help bring it to the forefront of his profession, where it stands today," the University Press said in its fall 2010 catalogue, which features his autobiography newest book, "A Passion for the Past: The Odyssey of a Transatlantic Archaeologist."

He also has written many popular books on archaeology, such as Archeology in Britain, Here Lies Virginia, All the Best Rubbish, Martin's Hundred, The Virginia Adventure, and "A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America."

He was recognized by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain in 1993 and was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) for service to the British cultural interests in Virginia."

This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ivor Noel Hume", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0