John Basil Hennessy
AO (10 February 1925 – 27 October 2013),
Vale Professor John Basil Hennessy AO FAHA
was an Australian archaeologist of the Ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...
and Emeritus Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology at the University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...
.
Childhood, early career and education
Born in Horsham, Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, Australia in 1925, the eldest child of Thomas Basil Hennessy and Nell Poultney, Hennessy was educated in nearby Ballarat, before leaving school at 17 to join the Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
. Released from military service in 1946, Hennessy enrolled at the University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...
in early 1947 with the intention of studying anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
. In 1948, however, Arthur Dale Trendall and James Stewart founded the University's Department of Archaeology, Hennessy becoming one of their first undergraduates.
Foreign ventures
Graduating with a BA Hons in 1950, Hennessy embarked on a tour throughout the Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
, finishing at Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
, capital of Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
where Hennessy held the inaugural student scholarship at the newly created British School of Archaeology in Ankara.
Hennessy returned to Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
at the end of 1951 in order to join the first season of renewed excavations at Jericho under the direction of Kathleen Kenyon
Dame Kathleen Mary Kenyon, (5 January 1906 – 24 August 1978) was a British archaeologist of Neolithic culture in the Fertile Crescent. She led excavations of Tell es-Sultan, the site of ancient Jericho, from 1952 to 1958, and has been called ...
.[ It was at Jericho that Hennessy was exposed to the Wheeler-Kenyon technique of baulk-debris excavation, a technique he was to employ and adapt widely in his own subsequent excavations.
Returning to Australia via ]London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, Hennessy became engaged to Ruth Shannon. The couple were married in 1954 and subsequently had three children.
1954 also saw Hennessy join the Department of Archaeology at the University of Sydney, initially as a temporary lecturer (1954–55, 1957), then later as a full-time lecturer (1958–61). 1962 saw Hennessy and his young family leave Australia once more, in order that Hennessy might pursue postgraduate study at Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. During the period 1962-64, Hennessy studied at Magdalen College
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
, completing his DPhil under the supervision of Kathleen Kenyon
Dame Kathleen Mary Kenyon, (5 January 1906 – 24 August 1978) was a British archaeologist of Neolithic culture in the Fertile Crescent. She led excavations of Tell es-Sultan, the site of ancient Jericho, from 1952 to 1958, and has been called ...
.[ His resulting dissertation, entitled ''The Foreign Relations of Palestine during the Early Bronze Age'', remains one of the early standard works on that period.
]
Years in Jerusalem
Hennessy's completion of his doctorate coincided with the beginning of an intimate association with the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem
The Kenyon Institute, previously known as the British School of Archaeology at Jerusalem (BSAJ), is a British overseas research institute supporting humanities and social science studies in Israel and Palestine. It is part of the Council for Bri ...
. Appointed Assistant Director of the School in 1965, becoming Deputy Director later the same year, Hennessy achieved the full directorship in 1966, remaining as Director until 1970. During these years, Hennessy directed excavations at the Damascus Gate
The Damascus Gate is one of the main Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. It is located in the wall on the city's northwest side and connects to a highway leading out to Nablus, which in the Hebrew Bible was called Shechem or Sichem, and from th ...
in the Old City of Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
(1964–66), at the Amman Airport Temple (1966), at Teleilat Ghassul (1967) and at Samaria
Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first ...
in 1968.
Return to Sydney
Hennessy left Jerusalem in 1970 because of the outbreak of Arab-Israeli hostilities, taking up the Edwin Cuthbert Hall Visiting Professorship in Near Eastern Archaeology at the University of Sydney. The chair was fully restored in 1973, Hennessy holding the Sydney professorship from that year until his retirement in 1990, when he was replaced by the current chair, Daniel Potts. During his tenure, Hennessy directed Australian excavations at Teleilat Ghassul (1975–77) and, from 1978 at Pella
Pella ( el, Πέλλα) is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is best-known for serving as the capital city of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, and was the birthplace of Alexander the Great.
On site of the ancient cit ...
(initially in association with Wooster College
The College of Wooster is a private liberal arts college in Wooster, Ohio. Founded in 1866 by the Presbyterian Church as the University of Wooster, it has been officially non-sectarian since 1969 when ownership ties with the Presbyterian Churc ...
, Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
). Hennessy was also instrumental in founding the Near Eastern Archaeology Foundation at the University of Sydney in 1986.
Retirement and honours
Hennessy was appointed Emeritus Professor of Archaeology after his retirement in 1990 and in 1993 received an Honorary Doctor of Letters from his alma mater, the University of Sydney.
Publications
*''Stephania - A Middle and Late Bronze Age Cemetery in Cyprus'', 1963.
*''The Foreign Relations of Palestine During the Early Bronze Age'', 1967.
*''Pella in Jordan I'' (with A.W. McNicoll and R.H. Smith), 1982.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennessy, Basil
1925 births
2013 deaths
20th-century archaeologists
Australian archaeologists
Officers of the Order of Australia
People from Horsham, Victoria