Martin Aitken

Martin Jim Aitken FRS (11 March 1922^[1] – 13 June 2017^[2]) was a British archaeometrist.^[3][4]

Aitken was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, and studied physics at Wadham College, Oxford. He was a fellow of Linacre College, Oxford.^[5] He was Professor of Archaeometry at the University of Oxford from 1985 until he retired in 1989.^[5][6]

Aitken organised annual meetings which became the Symposium on Archaeometry and Archaeological Prospection".^[7] He had an interest in absolute dating: radiocarbon dating from 1957, thermoluminescence dating from the 1960s, and later helped develop optically stimulated luminescence as a dating method dating.^[5]

He died in June 2017 at the age of 95.^[8]

Bibliography

• D. R. Brothwell; A. M. Pollard, eds. (March 2005). "Introduction". Handbook of Archaeological Sciences. Wiley. p. 782. ISBN 978-0-470-01476-9.