Paul Åström (January 15, 1929 – October 4, 2008) was a Swedish

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 ...

and

classical scholar Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. He was a professor at the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs universitet) is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 st ...

and director of the Swedish institutes in Athens and Rome. He is mostly known for his achievements in the prehistoric archaeology of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

Biography

Åström was born at

Sundsvall Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population. History Th ...

Västernorrland County Västernorrland County ( sv, Västernorrlands län) is a county (''län'') in the north of Sweden. It is bordered by the counties of Gävleborg, Jämtland, Västerbotten and the Gulf of Bothnia. The name ''Västernorrland'' means "Western Norrl ...

, Sweden. Åström earned a Master of Philosophy in 1951 and Doctor of Philosophy in 1958 at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Axel W. Persson (1888-1951) at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

and subsequently became a student of

Einar Gjerstad Einar Nilson Gjerstad (Örebro, 30 October 1897 – 8 January 1988) was a Swedish archaeologist. He was most noted for his research of the ancient Mediterranean, particularly known for his work on Cyprus, as well as his studies of early Rome. B ...

(1898-1988) where he received his doctoral degree. His dissertation was called ''The Middle Cypriote Bronze Age'' and dealt mostly with the ceramics of that time period. In 1958 he became the director of the

Swedish Institute at Athens The Swedish Institute at Athens ( sv, Svenska institutet I Athen; el, Σουηδικό Ινστιτούτο Αθηνών) was founded in 1946 and is one of 19 foreign archaeological institutes operating in Athens, Greece. The Institute is one of ...

where he remained until 1963. Then he taught at

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

(1963-1964) and became the director of the

Swedish Institute at Rome The Swedish Institute in Rome ( sv, Svenska institutet i Rom, it, Istituto Svedese di studi classici a Roma) is a research institution that serves as the base for archaeological excavations and other scientific research in Italy. It also pursues ...

(1967-1969). In 1969 he took up a professorship in ancient culture and social life at the

. He was dean of the historical-philosophical section 1974-1980 and for the Faculty of Humanities 1975-1980 prior to his retirement from the university in 1993. Åström participated in a number of excavations, including in Turkish

Labranda Labraunda ( grc, Λάβρανδα ''Labranda'' or Λάβραυνδα ''Labraunda'') is an ancient archaeological site five kilometers west of Ortaköy, Muğla Province, Turkey, in the mountains near the coast of Caria. In ancient times, it was h ...

in 1950, in

Kalopsida Kalopsida ( el, Καλοψίδα; tr, Çayönü) is a village in the Famagusta District of Cyprus, east of Lysi. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. Before 1974, Kalopsida was an exclusively Greek Cypriot village; its res ...

and Agios Iacovos in

in 1959, in

Dendra Dendra ( el, Δενδρά) is a prehistoric archaeological site situated outside the village with the same name belonging to the municipality of Midea in the Argolid, Greece. The site has a history stretching back at least to the early Bronze A ...

on several occasions during the 1960s and 1980s and in San Giovenale in 1967 and 1969. He headed the Swedish part of the Greek-Swedish excavations at

Midea Midea may refer to: * Midea Group (美的集团), a Chinese electrical appliance manufacturer * Midea, Greece, a Greek town * Midea (Argolid), a citadel in the town of the same name * Midea or Mideia, name of four figures in Greek mythology * '' ...

in Argolis (1983-1999) and conducted excavations in

together with Greek archaeologist Nicoletta Divari-Valakou, Head of the Archaeological Sites Department, Hellenic Ministry of Culture and at

Hala Sultan Tekke Hala Sultan Tekke or the Mosque of Umm Haram ( el, Τεκές Χαλά Σουλτάνας ''Tekés Chalá Soultánas''; tr, Hala Sultan Tekkesi) is a mosque and tekke complex on the west bank of Larnaca Salt Lake, in Larnaca, Cyprus. Umm Haram ( ...

, site of one of the Late Bronze Age biggest harbours in Cyprus. Åström formed his own publishing company, Astrom Editions in 1962. He held honorary doctorates from the University of Vienna (1994), the University of Athens (1995) and the University of Ioannina (2001).'Paul Åström (1929–2008) - the Swedish Nestor of Archaeology', Peter M. Fischer, ''Opuscula'' 1, 2008, p. 180.

Selected works

*''The Middle Cypriote Bronze Age'' (1957) *''Hala Sultan Tekke: 8, Excavations 1971-79'' (1983) *''Kairos: Studies in Art History and Literature'' (1988)

References

External links

Astrom Editions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Astrom, Paul 1929 births 2008 deaths People from Sundsvall Lund University alumni Uppsala University alumni Academic staff of the University of Gothenburg 20th-century archaeologists Classical archaeologists Swedish archaeologists Classics educators Knights of the Order of the Polar Star