Sir Max Edgar Lucien Mallowan (6 May 1904 – 19 August 1978) was a prominent British
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
, specialising in
ancient Middle Eastern history. He was the second husband of Dame
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...
.
Life and work
Born Edgar Mallowan in
Wandsworth
Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan
The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Gre ...
on 6 May 1904, he was the son of Frederick Mallowan and his wife Marguerite (née Duvivier), whose mother was mezzo-soprano
.
His father's family was from Austria. He was educated at
Rokeby School
Rokeby School is an 11–16 secondary school for boys located in Canning Town, Greater London, England.
In 2010 the school relocated to new building on the Barking Road. Facilities at the school include technology and ICT rooms, a six court ...
and
Lancing College
Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...
(where he was a contemporary of
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...
) and studied classics at
New College,
Oxford
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 the ...
.
He first worked as an apprentice to
Leonard Woolley
Sir Charles Leonard Woolley (17 April 1880 – 20 February 1960) was a British archaeologist best known for his Excavation (archaeology), excavations at Ur in Mesopotamia. He is recognized as one of the first "modern" archaeologists who excavat ...
at the archaeological site of
Ur (1925–1930), which was thought to be the capital of
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
n civilization. It was at the Ur site, in 1930, that he first met Agatha Christie, the famous author, whom he married the same year. In 1932, after a short time working at
Nineveh
Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ban ...
with
Reginald Campbell Thompson
Reginald Campbell Thompson (21 August 1876 – 23 May 1941) was a British archaeologist, assyriologist, and cuneiformist. He excavated at Nineveh, Ur, Nebo and Carchemish among many other sites.
Biography
Thompson was born in Kensington, ...
, Mallowan became a field director for a series of expeditions jointly run by the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
and the
British School of Archaeology in Iraq
The British Institute for the Study of Iraq (BISI) (formerly the British School of Archaeology in Iraq) is the only body in Britain devoted to research into the ancient civilizations and languages of Mesopotamia. It was founded in 1932 and its aim ...
. His excavations included the prehistoric village at
Tell Arpachiyah
Tell Arpachiyah (outside modern Mosul in Ninawa Governorate Iraq) is a prehistoric archaeological site in Nineveh Province (Iraq). It takes its name from a more recent village located about from Nineveh. The proper name of the mound on which the ...
, and the sites at
Chagar Bazar
Chagar Bazar (Šagir Bazar, Arabic: تل شاغربازار) is a tell, or settlement mound, in northern Al-Hasakah Governorate, Syria. It is a short distance from the major ancient city of Nagar (Tell Brak). The site was occupied from the Halaf ...
and
Tell Brak
Tell Brak (Nagar, Nawar) was an ancient city in Syria; its remains constitute a tell located in the Upper Khabur region, near the modern village of Tell Brak, 50 kilometers north-east of Al-Hasaka city, Al-Hasakah Governorate. The city' ...
in the
Upper Khabur
The Khabur River is the largest perennial tributary to the Euphrates in Syria. Although the Khabur originates in Turkey, the karstic springs around Ras al-Ayn are the river's main source of water. Several important wadis join the Khabur north of ...
area (
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
). He was also the first to excavate archaeological sites in the
Balikh Valley, to the west of the Khabur basin.
Following the outbreak of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
he served with the
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in North Africa, being based for part of 1943 at the ancient city of
Sabratha
Sabratha ( ar, صبراتة, Ṣabrāta; also ''Sabratah'', ''Siburata''), in the Zawiya District[Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...](_blank)
. He was commissioned as a
pilot officer
Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...
on probation in the Administrative and Special Duties Branch on 11 February 1941, promoted
flying officer on 18 August 1941,
flight lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...
on 1 April 1943 and at some point he also held the rank of
wing commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...
. He resigned his commission on 10 February 1954, but was permitted to retain that rank in retirement.
After the war, in 1947, he was appointed Professor of Western Asiatic Archaeology at the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
, a position which he held until elected a fellow of
All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...
in 1962. In 1947, he also became director of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq (1947–1961) and directed the resumption of its work at
Nimrud
Nimrud (; syr, ܢܢܡܪܕ ar, النمرود) is an ancient Assyrian city located in Iraq, south of the city of Mosul, and south of the village of Selamiyah ( ar, السلامية), in the Nineveh Plains in Upper Mesopotamia. It was a majo ...
(previously excavated by
A. H. Layard), which he published in ''Nimrud and its Remains'' (2 volumes, 1966). Mallowan gave an account of his work in ''Twenty-five Years of Mesopotamian Discovery'' (1956) and his wife Agatha Christie described his work in Syria in ''
Come, Tell Me How You Live
''Come, Tell Me How You Live'' is a short book of autobiography and travel literature by crime writer Agatha Christie. It is one of only two books she wrote and had published under both of her married names of "Christie" and "Mallowan" (the ot ...
'' (1946).
Max's first wife, Lady Mallowan, known to millions as Agatha Christie, died in 1976; the following year, Mallowan married
Barbara Hastings Parker
Barbara, Lady Mallowan, (born Barbara Hastings Parker; 14 July 1908 – 21 November 1993) was an English archaeologist, Assyriologist, and epigraphist who specialised in cylinder seals.
Life and work
Barbara Parker was born on 14 July 1908 t ...
, an archaeologist, who had been his
epigraphist
Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
at
Nimrud
Nimrud (; syr, ܢܢܡܪܕ ar, النمرود) is an ancient Assyrian city located in Iraq, south of the city of Mosul, and south of the village of Selamiyah ( ar, السلامية), in the Nineveh Plains in Upper Mesopotamia. It was a majo ...
and Secretary of the
British School of Archaeology in Iraq
The British Institute for the Study of Iraq (BISI) (formerly the British School of Archaeology in Iraq) is the only body in Britain devoted to research into the ancient civilizations and languages of Mesopotamia. It was founded in 1932 and its aim ...
.
Honours
Mallowan was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in the 1960
Queen's Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...
, and
knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
in 1968. He gave the 1969 Albert Reckitt Archaeological Lecture. He and Dame Agatha Christie were among a number of married couples each of whom held knightly honours in their own right.
Death
He died on 19 August 1978, aged 74, at
Greenway House in Devon and was interred alongside his first wife, Dame Agatha, in the churchyard of St Mary's,
Cholsey
Cholsey is a village and civil parish south of Wallingford in South Oxfordshire. In 1974 it was transferred from Berkshire to Oxfordshire, and from Wallingford Rural District to the district of South Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded Chol ...
in Oxfordshire. His estate was valued at £524,054. His widow Barbara, the second Lady Mallowan, died in
Wallingford in 1993, at the age of 85.
Deaths England and Wales 1984-2006
(subscription required)
In popular culture
In 2022, Mallowan was portrayed by Lucian Msamati
Lucian Gabriel Wiina Msamati (born 5 March 1976) is a British-Tanzanian actor. He played Salladhor Saan in HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', and was the first black actor to play Iago in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2015 production of ''Othel ...
in the British-American film '' See How They Run''.
Selected works
*
*
*
*
*
See also
* Nimrud ivories
The Nimrud ivories are a large group of small carved ivory plaques and figures dating from the 9th to the 7th centuries BC that were excavated from the Assyrian city of Nimrud (in modern Ninawa in Iraq) during the 19th and 20th centuries. The ivo ...
References
Further reading
* Cameron, George G. "Sir Max Mallowan, 1904–1978: bituary, ''The Biblical Archaeologist'', Vol. 42, No. 3. (Summer, 1979), pp. 180–183.
* Christie Mallowan, Agatha. ''Come, Tell Me How You Live: An Archaeological Memoir''. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1976 (hardcover, ); New York: Vintage/Ebury, 1983 (hardcover, ); New York: HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...
, 1999 (paperback, ); Pleasantville, NY: Akadine Press, 2002 (with introduction by David Pryce-Jones; paperback, ).
* Mallowan, M.E.L. ''Mallowan's Memoirs''. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1977 (hardcover, ). Reprinted as ''Mallowan's Memoirs: Agatha and the Archaeologist''. New York: HarperCollins, 2002 (paperback, ).
External links
Agatha Christie/Sir Max Mallowan's blue plaque at Cholsey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mallowan, Max
1904 births
1978 deaths
Academics of the University of London
Archaeologists of the Near East
Alumni of New College, Oxford
Burials in Oxfordshire
English archaeologists
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford
Knights Bachelor
People educated at Lancing College
People from Wandsworth
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II
Royal Air Force wing commanders
20th-century archaeologists