Anthony John Arkell MBE MC FSA (29 July 1898 – 26 February 1980), known as A. J. Arkell, was a British archaeologist and colonial administrator noted for his work in the Sudan and Egypt. Biography Anthony John Arkell was born at Hinxhill Rectory, Hinxhill, Kent, England. He was the son of Reverend John Norris and Jessie Arkell (née Bunting). He won a scholarship to Bradfield College, where he was head boy. He next won the Jordell Scholarship in Classics to The Queen's College, Oxford. Arkell joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1916 and served with the 39th Squadron, now the Royal Air Force in World War I. On 20 March 1918, while on a night patrol with his gunner-observer First Air Mechanic Albert Stagg, the pair shot down a Gotha G.V bomber in their Bristol F.2 Fighter 'Devil-in-the-Dark'. The bomber came down in a bean field off Roman Road, 200 yards from Albert Dock, East Ham, near the north bank of the Thames. The then-nineteen year old collected several souvenirs from the wreckage – a piece blue camouflage canvas, charred wood, a cartridge case, and a plywood ammunition box. He later obtained a propeller. Arkell received the Military Cross and Stagg received the Military Medal for their actions. He joined the Sudan Political Service in 1920 and was appointed Assistant District Commissioner for Darfur in Sudan in 1921. In 1925 he moved to Dar Masalit, and was appointed District Commissioner at Kosti from 1926-9 and later at Sennar. During his time in Kosti, Arkell was instrumental in ending the slave trade between the Sudan and Ethiopia, arresting dealers and establishing villages for the freed slaves, who named themselves 'Beni Arkell', the "Sons of Arkell". It was for this humanitarian service that he was awarded the MBE in 1928, and the Order of the Nile (4th class) in 1931. He was acting governor of the province of Darfur from 1932 to 1937. While District Commissioner and Governor, he published articles in the Sudan Notes and Records on many topics, including archaeology, anthropology, geography, and science. While on leave he learnt excavation techniques on British sites under Sir Mortimer Wheeler. In 1938 he was appointed the first Commissioner for Archaeology and Anthropology for the Sudan. He was instrumental in the creation in the National Museum of Antiquities in Khartoum. He encouraged Sudanese students and others to take an interest in their own