FORMER colleagues of Time Team's Professor Mick Aston have paid tribute to him following his death aged 66 today (June 25).

Mick became Somerset County Council’s first field archaeologist in the early 1970s.

He was also a driving force behind the Museum of Somerset in Taunton.

Heritage service manager Tom Mayberry, a former colleague of Mick’s, said: “The world of archaeology has lost one of its best and liveliest advocates.  

“Mick arrived just as the construction of the M5 Motorway was cutting a swathe through the county, revealing archaeology on an unprecedented scale and allowing him to sharpen archaeological skills which were soon among the best.  

“The challenges he faced in Somerset exactly fitted Mick’s hands-on approach and his enthusiasm for working with experts and volunteers to unravel the mysteries of the historic landscape. 

"In the process he became one of the most distinguished of a new breed of landscape archaeologists.”

Mick was born in the West Midlands in 1946 and after studying at Birmingham University came to Somerset in the early 1970s when he joined the county council.  

From 1979 until 2004 Mick taught at Bristol University and throughout that period he stayed close to Somerset through his research and writing, including his very influential work at Shapwick. 

Tom said: “Mick was a champion of Somerset heritage to the end. He was the voice of the fundraising campaign for the Museum of Somerset and also led the publicity campaign for Somerset Rural Life Museum.

“In recent months he helped ensure the future of his work by giving his large research archive to the Somerset Heritage Centre. It rightly included some of the stripey jumpers which became his trademark

Cabinet member for Heritage Councillor David Hall said: “We are extremely sad to learn of the death of Mick Aston who was a true advocate for archaeology in Somerset.

“He was a huge supporter of the County Council’s museums and heritage and helped promote events. Somerset’s Heritage Service has lost a good friend.”