Tributes paid to cathedral archaeologist (From Daily Echo)

Tributes paid to cathedral archaeologist

6:00am Friday 5th February 2010 in

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A HIGHLY-respected archaeologist behind a key 1960s dig at Winchester Cathedral has died, age 68.

Birthe Kjølbye-Biddle – wife of Martin Biddle – uncovered remains of the Old Minister, the Anglo-Saxon cathedral demolished by the Normans.

Her team also found evidence of the church of Cenwalh of Wessex and St Alphege, the original burial place of St Swithun in 862.

Her methods were known for being meticulous and sophisticated and many believe they helped change perceptions about what could be achieved from cemetery excavations.

The 68-year-old, pictured, who is survived by her husband and two daughters, was born in Sonderborg, Denmark, in 1941, when the country was under Nazi occupation.

She entered the Department of Archaeology at Aarhus University in 1960. It was her need for British excavation experience that took her to Martin Biddle’s investigations in Winchester.

Dr Kjølbye-Biddle died of ovarian cancer.