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2017 SESSION

17105552D
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 426
Offered February 20, 2017
Celebrating the life of Ivor Noël Hume.
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Patron-- Mason
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WHEREAS, Ivor Noël Hume of Williamsburg, a world-renowned archaeologist who served the Commonwealth as chief archaeologist of Colonial Williamsburg for more than three decades, died on February 4, 2017; and

WHEREAS, a native of London, England, Noël Hume studied at Framlingham College and St. Lawrence College and served his country during World War II; after the war, he began his career in archaeology with the Guildhall Museum; and

WHEREAS, Noël Hume undertook excavations in areas of London that had been destroyed during the war, developing expertise in artifacts ranging from the Roman era to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, becoming an authority in highly specialized areas, such as the history of English pottery and wine bottles; and

WHEREAS, in the 1950s, after learning that the United States National Park Service was seeking an expert in seventeenth-century glass, Noël Hume was asked to consult on artifacts found at Colonial Williamsburg; and

WHEREAS, in 1957, Noël Hume became the director of Colonial Williamsburg’s expanding archaeology department; his work at Carter’s Grove Plantation garnered national and international attention after he uncovered the remains of a previously lost Virginia settlement, Wolstenholme Towne; and

WHEREAS, after his well-earned retirement from Colonial Williamsburg in 1988, Noël Hume investigated the lost colony of Roanoke Island in North Carolina, the site of the first attempted English settlement in America; and

WHEREAS, Noël Hume wrote dozens of books and articles throughout his career; his writing style was both informative for professional archaeologists and accessible for students and hobbyists, and his 1969 work A Guide to the Artifacts of Colonial America is still widely respected as a valuable resource in the archaeological community; and

WHEREAS, Noël Hume developed innovative field and laboratory techniques to advance the study and practice of archaeology, and he was a trusted mentor to numerous young archaeologists; and

WHEREAS, predeceased by his first wife, Audrey, Noël Hume will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his wife, Carol; his children and their families; his brother, David, and numerous other family members, friends, and colleagues; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Ivor Noël Hume, a brilliant archaeologist who made many contributions to Colonial Williamsburg and the United States; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Ivor Noël Hume as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.