 From there , Wheeler was invited to direct a Society of Antiquaries excavation at the Roman settlement of Verulamium , which existed on land recently acquired by the Corporation of St Albans . He took on this role for four seasons from 1930 to 1933 , before leaving a fifth season of excavation under the control of the archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon and the architect A. W. G. <unk> . Wheeler enjoyed the opportunity to excavate at a civilian as opposed to military site , and also liked its proximity to his home in London . He was particularly interested in searching for a pre @-@ Roman Iron Age oppidum at the site , noting that the existence of a nearby <unk> settlement was attested to in both classical texts and numismatic evidence . With Wheeler focusing his attention on potential Iron Age evidence , Tessa concentrated on excavating the inside of the city walls ; Wheeler had affairs with at least three assistants during the project . After Tessa wrote two interim reports , the final excavation report was finally published in 1936 as Verulamium : A <unk> and Two Roman Cities , jointly written by Wheeler and his wife . The report resulted in the first major published criticism of Wheeler , produced by the young archaeologist <unk> Myres in a review for Antiquity ; although stating that there was much to praise about the work , he critiqued Wheeler 's selective excavation , dubious dating , and <unk> . Wheeler responded with a piece in which he defended his work and launched a personal attack on both Myres and Myres 's employer , Christ Church , Oxford . 
