Leslie Grinsell

Leslie Valentine Grinsell
Grinsell at the Museu Regional d'Arta, Mallorca in December 1979
Born	(1907-02-14)14 February 1907 London
Died	28 February 1995(1995-02-28) (aged 88)
Citizenship	United Kingdom
Nationality	English
Fields	Archaeology

Leslie Valentine Grinsell (14 February 1907 – 28 February 1995) was an English archaeologist. He became noted within the discipline for his studies of the prehistoric barrows found across southern England, and published widely on archaeological subjects during his lifetime.

Born in London and raised largely in Brighton, Grinsell developed an early interest in archaeology through visits to Brighton Museum. Later working as a bank clerk in London, he embarked on archaeological research in an amateur capacity, visiting prehistoric barrows during his weekends and holidays in order to record their shape, dimensions, and location. On the basis of his research, he published a range of academic articles and books on the subject of barrows during the 1930s, gaining recognition as Britain's foremost expert on the subject. In 1933, he carried out his only archaeological excavation, at the Devil's Humps in Sussex.

During the Second World War he joined the Royal Air Force and served in Egypt, where he acquainted himself with the archaeological remains of Ancient Egyptian society; after the war he published a book on the Egyptian pyramids. On his return to Britain, Grinsell became the treasurer of the Prehistoric Society, a position that he held from 1947 till 1970. Moving to Devizes, in 1949 he entered the archaeological profession as an assistant to Christopher Hawkes and Stuart Piggott at the Victoria County History project. From 1952 to 1972, Grinsell worked as Keeper of Anthropology and Archaeology at Bristol City Museum, during which time he continued his examination of barrows, focusing on those in south-west England. On retirement, he was appointed to the Order of the British Empire and a festschrift was published in his honour.