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Michael (Mick) Antony Aston (born July 1 1946) is a British archaeologist. He is a passionate educator and populariser of archaeology, particularly through the Channel 4 television series Time Team. Aston is known to the viewing public for his colourful sweaters.

Academic work

Aston was born in the English Black Country and studied geography at the University of Birmingham. At the same time he pursued his interest in archaeology both academically and through fieldwork, finding his vocation as a landscape archaeologist.

While researching for a higher degree he taught at the Extra-Mural Department of the University of Birmingham. When he moved to Oxfordshire to take up a post at the Oxford City and County Museum, he taught many extramural classes for University of Oxford. From there he moved to Taunton to become the first County Archaeologist for Somerset. Again he taught extramural classes, this time for the University of Bristol. In 1978 he became a full-time tutor in local studies at the Oxford University External Studies Department. Then in 1979 he returned to the West Country as tutor in archaeology at the University of Bristol Extra-Mural Department. He was awarded a personal chair at Bristol University in 1996.

When he retired in 2004, he became an emeritus professor at Bristol University, and an honorary visiting professor at the University of Exeter and the University of Durham. In the same year he was awarded an Honorary D.Litt by the University of Winchester, formerly King Alfred's College. He had long been associated with this college as an external examiner. The archaeology students of King Alfred's also participated in a 10-year project led by Aston to investigate the manor of Shapwick in Somerset. He received an honorary degree from Worcester University, 31 October 2007.

Aston has published many works, particularly on landscape archaeology and monasteries. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1976 and was the 21st member of the Institute of Field Archaeologists.

Broadcasting

While at Oxford Aston had a long-running radio series on Radio Oxford. He sees the mass media as an extension of extramural classes. In 1988 producer Tim Taylor invited him to work on a series of four programmes for Channel 4 called Time Signs, broadcast in 1991. Together Taylor and Aston devised the format for Time Team, first broadcast in 1994. Aston has acted as chief archaeological advisor to the programme ever since.

Aston has also appeared in several Time Team special programmes, which are documentaries on various topics related to history and archaeology, and in three programmes of another series produced by Tim Taylor called History Hunters, broadcast in 1998. He also devised his own series of six programmes for HTV called Time Traveller 1997.

Life

Aston lives in Sandford, Somerset and has a son, James, and a stepdaughter, Kathryn, both children of his former partner Carinne Allinson. He suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2003, from which he has recovered. Aston is a vegetarian and naturist. He supports a number of charities and other good causes, including Greenpeace and Oxfam.

Works

Aston, M. and Bond, J., The Landscape of Towns (1976, reprinted with additions 2000).
Aston, M., Monasteries (1993), reprinted as Monasteries in the Landscape (2000).
Aston, M. and Lewis, C., The Medieval Archaeology of Wessex (Oxbow, 1994).
Aston, M. and Taylor, T., The Atlas of Archaeology (1998).
Aston, M. Mick's Archaeology (2000, revised edn. 2002). His professional autobiography.
Aston, M., Lewis, C. and Harding, P., Time Team's Timechester (2000).
Keevil. G., Aston, M. and Hall, T., Monastic Archaeology: papers on the study of medieval monasteries (Oxbow, 2001).
Robinson, T. and Aston, M., Archaeology is Rubbish - a beginner's guide (2002).
Aston, M., Interpreting the Landscape from the Air (2002).
Gerrard, C. with Aston, M., The Shapwick Project, Somerset: A Rural Landscape Explored, Society for Medieval Archaeology Monograph 25 (2007).