Sir Arthur John Evans
(8 July 1851 – 11 July 1941) was a 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 ...
and pioneer in the study of
Aegean civilization
Aegean civilization is a general term for the Bronze Age civilizations of Greece around the Aegean Sea. There are three distinct but communicating and interacting geographic regions covered by this term: Crete, the Cyclades and the Greek mainland ...
in the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
. He is most famous for unearthing the palace of
Knossos
Knossos (also Cnossos, both pronounced ; grc, Κνωσός, Knōsós, ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe's oldest city.
Settled as early as the Neolithic period, the na ...
on the
Greek island
Greece has many islands, with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 to 6,000, depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166 and 227.
The largest Greek island by a ...
of
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
. Based on the structures and artifacts found there and throughout the
eastern Mediterranean
Eastern Mediterranean is a loose definition of the eastern approximate half, or third, of the Mediterranean Sea, often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea.
It typically embraces all of that sea's coastal zones, referring to communi ...
, Evans found that he needed to distinguish the
Minoan civilisation
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...
from
Mycenaean Greece
Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in ...
. Evans was also the first to define Cretan scripts
Linear A
Linear A is a writing system that was used by the Minoans of Crete from 1800 to 1450 BC to write the hypothesized Minoan language or languages. Linear A was the primary script used in palace and religious writings of the Minoan civil ...
and
Linear B
Linear B was a syllabic script used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries. The oldest Mycenaean writing dates to about 1400 BC. It is descended from ...
, as well as an earlier pictographic writing.
Biographical background
Family
![Nash mills during demolition](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Nash_mills_during_demolition.jpg)
Arthur Evans was born in
Nash Mills
Nash Mills is a civil parish within Hemel Hempstead and Dacorum Borough Council on the northern side of the Grand Union Canal, formerly the River Gade, and in the southernmost corner of Hemel Hempstead. There is evidence of a mill in this locati ...
,
Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500.
Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...
,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
, England, the first child of
John Evans (1823–1908) and Harriet Ann Dickinson (born 1824), the daughter of John's employer,
John Dickinson (1782–1869)
John Dickinson (29 March 1782 – 11 January 1869) invented a continuous mechanised papermaking process. He established in 1809 the English paper and stationery producer Longman & Dickinson, which later evolved into John Dickinson Stationery Li ...
, the inventor and founder of Messrs John Dickinson, a paper mill. John Evans came from a family of men who were both educated and intellectually active but undistinguished by either wealth or aristocratic connection. His father,
Arthur Benoni Evans
Arthur Benoni Evans (1781–1854) was a British writer.
Evans was born at Compton Beauchamp in the English county of Berkshire (now in Oxfordshire), on 25 March 1781. His father, the Rev. Lewis Evans, vicar of Froxfield, Wiltshire, was a well-kn ...
, Arthur's grandfather, had been headmaster of
Dixie Grammar School
Dixie Grammar School is an independent school in Market Bosworth, Leicestershire.
The earliest records of the School's existence date from 1320, but the school was re-founded in 1601 under the will of an Elizabethan merchant and Lord Mayor of L ...
at
Market Bosworth
Market Bosworth is a market town and civil parish in western Leicestershire, England. At the 2001 Census, it had a population of 1,906, increasing to 2,097 at the 2011 census. It is most famously near to the site of the decisive final battle of ...
, Leicestershire. John knew
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and could quote the
classical authors.
In 1840, instead of going to college, John started work in the mill owned by his maternal uncle, John Dickinson. He married his first cousin, Harriet, in 1850, which entitled him, in 1851, to a junior partnership in the family business. Profits from the mill would help fund Arthur's excavations, restorations at Knossos, and resulting publications. For the time being they were an unpretentious and affectionate family. They moved into a brick
terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...
built for the purpose near the mill, which came to be called the "red house" because it lacked the sooty patina of the other houses. Harriet called her husband "Jack." Grandmother Evans called Arthur "darling Trot," asserting in a note that, compared to his father, he was "a bit of a dunce."
[.] In 1856, with Harriet's declining health and Jack's growing reputation and prosperity, they moved into Harriet's childhood home, a mansion with a garden, where the children ran free.
John maintained his status as an officer in the company, which eventually became
John Dickinson Stationery
John Dickinson Stationery Limited was a leading English stationery company founded in southwest Hertfordshire. In the 19th century, the company pioneered a number of innovations in papermaking. It became part of Dickinson Robinson Group in 19 ...
, but also became distinguished for his pursuits in numismatics, geology and archaeology. His interest in geology came from an assignment by the company to study the diminishing water resources in the area with a view toward protecting the company from lawsuits. The mill consumed large amounts of water, which was also needed for the canals. He became an expert and a legal consultant. However, collecting was endemic to the family; his father and grandfather both had done it. He was more interested in the stone-age artefacts he was discovering while mapping stream beds. As Arthur grew older, he was allowed to assist John in looking for artefacts and later classifying the collection.
John became a distinguished
antiquary
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
, publishing numerous books and articles. In 1859 he conducted a geological survey of the
Somme Valley
The Somme ( , , ) is a river in Picardy, northern France.
The river is in length, from its source in the high ground of the former at Fonsomme near Saint-Quentin, to the Bay of the Somme, in the English Channel. It lies in the geological ...
with
Joseph Prestwich
Sir Joseph Prestwich, FRS (12 March 1812 – 23 June 1896) was a British geologist and businessman, known as an expert on the Tertiary Period and for having confirmed the findings of Boucher de Perthes of ancient flint tools in the Somme vall ...
. His connections and invaluable advice were indispensable to Arthur's career throughout the remainder of his long life.
Arthur's mother, Harriet, died in 1858 when Arthur was seven. He had two brothers,
Lewis
Lewis may refer to:
Names
* Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name
* Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname
Music
* Lewis (musician), Canadian singer
* "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...
(1853) and Philip Norman (1854), and two sisters, Harriet (1857) and Alice (1858). He would remain on excellent terms with all of them all of his life. He was raised by a stepmother, Fanny (Frances), née Phelps, with whom he also got along very well. She had no children of her own and also predeceased her husband. John's third wife was a classical scholar,
Maria Millington Lathbury. When he was 70 they had a daughter,
Joan Joan may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters
*:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine
* Joan (surname)
Weather events
*Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...
, who would become an art historian. John died in 1908 at 85, when Arthur was 57. His close support and assistance had been indispensable in excavating and conceptualising Minoan civilisation.
Education
Harrow
![The Old Schools, Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/The_Old_Schools%2C_Harrow_on_the_Hill%2C_Middlesex_-_geograph.org.uk_-_364722.jpg)
After a
preparatory school, he entered
Harrow School
(The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God)
, established = (Royal Charter)
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school
, religion = Church of E ...
in 1865 at age 14. He was co-editor of ''
The Harrovian
''The Harrovian'' is a weekly newspaper published by Harrow School during term time "as an organ of record, and a forum for comment, debate and expression of individual opinion within the school". All articles are published anonymously, except f ...
'' in his final year, 1869/70. At Harrow he was friends with
Francis Maitland Balfour
Francis (Frank) Maitland Balfour, known as F. M. Balfour, (10 November 1851 – 19 July 1882) was a British biologist. He lost his life while attempting the ascent of Mont Blanc. He was regarded by his colleagues as one of the greatest biologists ...
. They competed for the Natural History Prize; the outcome was a draw. They were both highly athletic, riding, swimming and mountain-climbing, at which Balfour was killed later in life. Evans suffered from near-sightedness, but refused to wear glasses. His close-up vision was better than normal, enabling him to see detail missed by others. Farther away his field of vision was blurry and he compensated by carrying a cane, which he called Prodger, to explore the environment. His wit was very sharp, too sharp for the administration, which stopped a periodical he had started, ''The Pen-Viper'', after the first issue.
After graduation, Evans became part of and relied on the
Old Harrovian network of acquaintances. Minchin characterised him as "a philologer and wit" as well as an expert on the "
Eastern Question", i.e. diplomatic and political problems posed by the decay of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
.
Oxford
![Brasenose College from the High Street](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Brasenose_College_from_the_High_Street.jpg)
Arthur matriculated on 9 June 1870 and attended
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...
. His
housemaster
{{refimprove, date=September 2018
In British education, a housemaster is a schoolmaster in charge of a boarding house, normally at a boarding school and especially at a public school. The housemaster is responsible for the supervision and care o ...
at Harrow, F. Rendall, had eased the way to his acceptance with the recommendation that he was "a boy of powerful original mind." At Brasenose he read modern history, a new curriculum, which was nearly a disaster, as his main interests were in archaeology and classical studies.
His summertime activities with his brothers and friends were perhaps more important to his subsequent career. Having been given an ample allowance by his father, he went looking for adventure on the continent, seeking out circumstances that might be considered dangerous by some. In June 1871, he and Lewis visited
Hallstatt
Hallstatt ( , , ) is a small town in the district of Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Salzkammergut ...
, where his father had excavated in 1866, adding some of the artefacts to his collection. Arthur had made himself familiar with these. Subsequently, they went on to Paris and then to
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
. The
Franco-Prussian War had just concluded the month before. Arthur had been told at the French border to remove the dark cape he was wearing so that he would not be shot for a spy. Amiens was occupied by the Prussian army. Arthur found them prosaic and preoccupied with souvenir-hunting. He and Lewis hunted for stone-age artefacts in the gravel quarries, Arthur remarking that he was glad the Prussians were not interested in flint artefacts.
In 1872 he and Norman adventured into Ottoman territory in the
Carpathians
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The ...
, already in a state of political tension. They crossed borders illegally at high altitudes, "revolvers at the ready." This was Arthur's first encounter with Turkish people and customs. He bought a set of clothes of a wealthy Turkish man, complete with red fez, baggy trousers and embroidered, short-sleeved tunic. His detailed, enthusiastic account was published in ''
Fraser's Magazine
''Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country'' was a general and literary journal published in London from 1830 to 1882, which initially took a strong Tory line in politics. It was founded by Hugh Fraser and William Maginn in 1830 and loosely directe ...
'' for May 1873.
In 1873 he and Balfour tramped over
Lapland, Finland, and Sweden. Everywhere he went he took copious anthropological notes and made numerous drawings of the people, places and artefacts. During the Christmas holidays of 1873, Evans catalogued a coin collection being bequeathed to Harrow by
John Gardner Wilkinson
Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (5 October 1797 – 29 October 1875) was an English traveller, writer and pioneer Egyptologist of the 19th century. He is often referred to as "the Father of British Egyptology".
Childhood and education
Wilkinson ...
, the father of British
Egyptology
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...
, who was too ill to work on it himself. The headmaster had suggested "my old pupil, Arthur John Evans – a remarkably able young man."
Arthur graduated from Oxford at the age of 24 in 1874, but his career had come near to floundering during the final examinations on modern history. Despite his extensive knowledge of ancient history, classics, archaeology and what would be termed today cultural anthropology, he apparently had not even read enough in his nominal subject to pass the required examination. He could answer no questions on topics later than the 12th century.
He had convinced one of his examiners,
Edward Augustus Freeman
Edward Augustus Freeman (2 August 182316 March 1892) was an English historian, architectural artist, and Liberal politician during the late-19th-century heyday of Prime Minister William Gladstone, as well as a one-time candidate for Parliament. ...
, of his talent. They were both published authors, they were both Gladstone liberals, and they were both interested in the
Herzegovina uprising (1875–1877)
The Herzegovina uprising ( sr, Херцеговачки устанак, Hercegovački ustanak) was an uprising led by Christian Serb population, against the Ottoman Empire, firstly and predominantly in Herzegovina (hence its name), from wher ...
and on the side of
Old Herzegovina
Old Herzegovina ( sr, Стара Херцеговина, Stara Hercegovina) is a historical region, covering the eastern parts of historical Herzegovina, outside the scope of modern Herzegovina. A large section of ''Old Herzegovina'' belongs to ...
insurgents. Freeman convinced Evans's tutors, George Kitchen and
John Richard Green
John Richard Green (12 December 1837 – 7 March 1883) was an English historian.
Early life
Green was born on 12 December 1837, the son of a tradesman in Oxford, where he was educated, first at Magdalen College School, and then at Jesus C ...
, and they convinced the Regius professor,
William Stubbs
William Stubbs (21 June 182522 April 1901) was an English historian and Anglican bishop. He was Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford between 1866 and 1884. He was Bishop of Chester from 1884 to 1889 and Bishop of O ...
, that, in view of his special other knowledge and interests, and his father's "high standing in learned society," Evans should not only be passed, but receive a first-class degree. It was the topic of much jesting; Green wrote to Freeman on 11 November 1875:
"I am very sorry to have missed you, dear Freeman ... Little Evans – son of John Evans the great – has just come back from the Herzegovina which he reached by way of Lapland, having started from the Schools in excitement at the 'first' I wrung for him out of the obdurate Stubbs ..."
In the spring of 1875 he applied for the Archaeological Travelling Studentship offered by Oxford, but, as he says in a letter to Freeman later in life,
[.] he was turned down thanks to the efforts of
Benjamin Jowett
Benjamin Jowett (, modern variant ; 15 April 1817 – 1 October 1893) was an English tutor and administrative reformer in the University of Oxford, a theologian, an Anglican cleric, and a translator of Plato and Thucydides. He was Master of Bal ...
and
Charles Thomas Newton
Sir Charles Thomas Newton (16 September 1816 – 28 November 1894) was a British archaeologist. He was made KCB in 1887.
Life
He was born in 1816, the second son of Newton Dickinson Hand Newton, vicar of Clungunford, Shropshire, and afterw ...
, two Oxford dons having a low opinion of his work there.
Göttingen
In April–July of that year he attended a summer term at the
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
at the suggestion of
Henry Montagu Butler
Henry Montagu Butler (2 July 1833 – 14 January 1918) was an English academic and clergyman, who served as headmaster of Harrow School (1860–85), Dean of Gloucester (1885–86) and List of Masters of Trinity College, Cambridge, Master of Tr ...
, then headmaster at Harrow. Evans was to study with
Reinhold Pauli
Reinhold Pauli (25 May 1823 in Berlin – 3 June 1882 in Bremen) was a German historian of England.
Life
He studied at the universities of Bonn and Berlin, where he received his PhD in 1846. In 1847 he moved to England, where he served as private ...
, who had spent some years in Britain, and was a friend of Green. The study would be preparatory to doing research in modern history at Göttingen. The arrangement may have been meant as a remedial plan. On the way to Göttingen, Evans was sidetracked, unpropitiously for the modern history plan, by some illegal excavations at Trier. He had noticed that the tombs were being plundered surreptitiously. For the sake of preserving some artefacts, he hired a crew, performed such hasty excavations as he could, crated the material and sent it home to John.
Göttingen was not to Evans's liking. His quarters were stuffy, and the topics were of little interest to him, as he had already demonstrated. His letters speak mainly of the discrepancy between the poor peasants of the countryside and the institution of the wealthy in the town. His thinking was of a revolutionary bent. Deciding not to stay, he left there to meet Lewis for another trip to
Old Herzegovina
Old Herzegovina ( sr, Стара Херцеговина, Stara Hercegovina) is a historical region, covering the eastern parts of historical Herzegovina, outside the scope of modern Herzegovina. A large section of ''Old Herzegovina'' belongs to ...
. That decision marked the end of his formal education.
Herzegovina was then in a
state of insurrection. The Ottomans were using
Bashi-bazouk
A bashi-bazouk ( ota, باشی بوزوق , , , roughly "leaderless" or "disorderly") was an irregular soldier of the Ottoman army, raised in times of war. The army chiefly recruited Albanians and Circassians as bashi-bazouks, but recruits ...
s to try to quell it. Despite subsequent events, there is no evidence that the young Evans might have had ulterior motives at this time, despite the fact that Butler had helped to educate half the government of the United Kingdom. He was simply an adventurous young man bored with poring through books in a career into which he had been pushed against his real interests. The real adventure, in his mind, was the revolution in the Balkans.
Career
Agent in the Balkans
Private adventurer arrived in Old Herzegovina and discovered Roman city near Pljevlja
After resolving to leave Göttingen, Evans and Lewis planned to spy against the
Principality of Montenegro
The Principality of Montenegro ( sr, Књажевина Црна Горa, Knjaževina Crna Gora) was a principality in Southeastern Europe that existed from 13 March 1852 to 28 August 1910. It was then proclaimed a kingdom by Nikola I, who then ...
in the rebellious mountain village of
Bobovo, Pljevlja at the time of their journey the strongest point of resistance in triple mountain ranges of
Ljubišnja mountain and
Tara gorges. During the struggle in Bobovo on 15 August 1875 during the
Herzegovina uprising (1875–1877)
The Herzegovina uprising ( sr, Херцеговачки устанак, Hercegovački ustanak) was an uprising led by Christian Serb population, against the Ottoman Empire, firstly and predominantly in Herzegovina (hence its name), from wher ...
they were expelled from Province of
Pljevlja
Pljevlja ( srp, Пљевља, ) is a town and the center of Pljevlja Municipality located in the northern part of Montenegro. The town lies at an altitude of . In the Middle Ages, Pljevlja had been a crossroad of the important commercial roads and ...
by the Ottoman authorities and went to board a ship in the city of
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...
via Pljevlja, a city with a large settlement from the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
period, which Evans named as the Municipium S...? They knew that the region, a part of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, was under
martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
and that the Christians were in a state of insurrection against the Muslim
bey
Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...
s placed over them. Some Ottoman troops were in the country in support of the beys, but mainly the beys were using irregular forces, the
Bashi-bazouks, loosely attached to the Ottoman military. Their notorious cruelty, which they practised against the natives, helped to turn the British Empire under
W. E. Gladstone against the Ottoman Empire, as well as to attract Russian intervention at
Serbian request. At the time of Evans' and Lewis's initial adventure, the Ottomans were still trying to lessen the threat of intervention by placating their neighbours. Evans sought and obtained permission to travel in Bosnia from its Turkish military governor.
The two brothers experienced little difficulty with either the Serbs or the Ottomans but they did provoke the neighbouring
Austro-Hungarian Empire
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
and spent a night in "a wretched cell". After deciding to lodge in a good hotel in
Slavonski Brod
Slavonski Brod (), commonly shortened to simply Brod, is a city in eastern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Being one of the principal cities in the historical regions of Slavonia and Posavina, Slavonski Brod was the 7th large ...
on the border, having judged it safer than
Bosanski Brod
Brod ( sr-cyr, Брод, ),[The official web site of the municipality](_blank)
, Brod/Брод. across the
Sava
The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...
River, they were observed by an officer who saw their sketches and concluded they might be Russian spies. Politely invited by two other officers to join the police chief and produce passports, Evans replied, "Tell him that we are Englishmen and are not accustomed to being treated in this way". The officers insisted and, interrupting the chief at dinner, Evans suggested he should have come to the hotel in person to request the passports. The chief, in a somewhat less than civil manner, won the argument about whether he had the right to check the passports of Englishmen by inviting them to spend the night in a cell.
On the way to the holding cell the two young men were followed by a large crowd, whom Evans lost no opportunity to harangue, even though they understood only German. He threatened the authorities in the name of the British fleet, which, he asserted, would sail up the Sava river. He demanded the mayor, offered the jailer a bribe for food and water, but went into the cell unfed and without water. Meanwhile, the incident came to attention of Dr Makanetz, leader of the National Party of the Croatian Assembly, who happened to be in Brod. The next day he complained to the mayor. Evans and his brother were released with profuse apologies.
They crossed the Sava into Bosnia, which Evans found so different that he regarded the Sava as the border between Europe and Asia. After a number of interviews with Turkish officials who attempted to dissuade them from travel on foot, the passport from the pasha prevailed. They were given an escort – one man, enough to establish authority – as far as
Derventa
Derventa ( sr-cyrl, Дервента) is a city located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the Posavina region, northwest of the city of Doboj. As of 2013, the town has a total of 11,631 inhabitants, whil ...
. From there they travelled directly south to
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
and from there to
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...
(Ragusa) on the coast, in
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
. In Sarajevo they learned that the region through which they had just passed was now "plunged in civil war". They were escorted to the British consulate. The consul was away at
Mostar
Mostar (, ; sr-Cyrl, Мостар, ) is a city and the administrative center of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina.
Mostar is sit ...
, but the young men were greeted by a familiar figure,
Edward Augustus Freeman
Edward Augustus Freeman (2 August 182316 March 1892) was an English historian, architectural artist, and Liberal politician during the late-19th-century heyday of Prime Minister William Gladstone, as well as a one-time candidate for Parliament. ...
, Chargé d'Affaires, and "his amiable daughters". Freeman was assisting his good friend, the Prime Minister, to keep an eye on the situation. They relaxed in "the quiet of an English garden".
The English Protestants of Sarajevo, some of whom had come in a missionary capacity, were packing up to leave the country, as were other "resident Europeans". Shortly the revolt reached lower Bosnia. Turkish garrisons were massacred, in response to which the irregular Turkish troops began to massacre in return. The Christian population streamed across the Sava into Austria. The pasha of Sarajevo, however, was determined to keep the peace. The young men spent their last day there shopping quietly. Then they headed south to Ragusa, where Evans later was to spend many happily married years in his own villa on the sea.
Reporter for the ''Manchester Guardian''
Home again, Evans wrote of his experiences, working from his extensive notes and drawings, publishing ''Through Bosnia and Herzegovina'', which came out in two editions, 1876 and 1877. He became overnight an expert in Balkan affairs. The ''
Manchester Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' hired him as a correspondent, sending him back to the Balkans in 1877. He reported on the suppression of the Christian insurrectionists by the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire, and yet was treated by that empire as though he were an ambassador, despite his anti-Turkish sentiments. His older interests in antiquities continued. He collected portable artefacts, especially sealstones, at every opportunity, between sending back article after article to ''The Guardian''. He also visited the Freemans in Sarajevo whenever he could. A relationship with Freeman's oldest daughter, Margaret, had begun to blossom. In 1878 the Russians compelled a settlement of the conflict on appeal by the Serbs. The Ottomans ceded Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a protectorate.
In his report to
Manchester Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
in 1898, he described the ethnic cleansing of
Turkish Cretan civilians by saying:
But the most deliberate act of extermination was that perpetrated at Eteà. In this small village, too, the Moslem inhabitants, including the women and children, had taken refuge in the mosque, which the men defended for a while. The building itself is a solid structure, but the door of the small walled enclosure... was finally blown in, and the defenders laid down their arms, understanding, it would appear, that their lives were to be spared. Men, women and children, they were all led forth to the church of St. Sophia, which lies on a hill about half an hour above the village, and then and there dispatched—the men cut to pieces, the women and children shot. A young girl who had fainted, and was left for dead, alone lived to tell the tale.
In 1878 Evans proposed to Margaret Freeman, three years his senior, an educated and literate woman, and until now secretary for her father. The offer was accepted, to everyone's great satisfaction. Freeman spoke affectionately of his future son-in-law. The couple were married near the Freeman home in
Wookey
Wookey is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish west of Wells, Somerset, Wells, on the River Axe (Bristol Channel), River Axe in the Mendip District, Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Henton ...
, Somerset, at the parish church. They took up residence in a Venetian villa Evans had purchased in Ragusa, Casa San Lazzaro, on the bluffs overlooking the Adriatic. One of their first tasks was to create a garden there. They lived happily, Evans pursuing his journalistic career, until 1882.
Evans's continued stance in favour of native government led to a condition of unacceptability to the local regime within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He did not see
Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina fell under Austro-Hungarian rule in 1878, when the Congress of Berlin approved the occupation of the Bosnia Vilayet, which officially remained part of the Ottoman Empire. Three decades later, in 1908, Austria-Hungary pr ...
as an improvement over Ottoman. He wrote: "The people are treated not as a liberated but as a conquered and inferior race...." The Evans's sentiments were followed by acts of personal charity: they took in an orphan, invited a blind woman to dinner every night. Finally Evans wrote some public letters in favour of an insurrection.
Evans was arrested in 1882, to be put on trial as a British ''
agent provocateur
An agent provocateur () is a person who commits, or who acts to entice another person to commit, an illegal or rash act or falsely implicate them in partaking in an illegal act, so as to ruin the reputation of, or entice legal action against, th ...
'' stirring up further insurrection. His journalistic sources were not acceptable friendships to the authorities. He spent six weeks in prison awaiting trial, but at the trial nothing definitive could be proved. His wife was interrogated. She found most offensive the reading of her love letters before her eyes by a hostile police agent. Evans was expelled from the country. Gladstone had been apprised of the situation immediately, but, as far as the public knew, did nothing. The government in Vienna similarly disavowed any knowledge of or connection to the actions of the local authorities. The Evans's returned home to rent a house in Oxford, abandoning their villa, which became a hotel. However, Evans's reputation among the Slavs assumed unassailable proportions. He was invited later to play a role in the formation of the pre-Yugoslav state. In 1941 the government of Yugoslavia sent representatives to his funeral.
Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum
Evans and his wife moved back to Oxford, renting a house there in January 1883. This period of unemployment was the only one of his life; he employed himself finishing up his Balkan studies. He completed his articles on Roman roads and cities there. It was suggested that he apply to a new Professorship of Classical Archaeology at Oxford. When he found out that Jowett and Newton were among the electors, he decided not to apply. He wrote to Freeman that to confine archaeology to classics was an absurdity.
[ Instead he and Margaret travelled to Greece, seeking out ]Heinrich Schliemann
Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann (; 6 January 1822 – 26 December 1890) was a German businessman and pioneer in the field of archaeology. He was an advocate of the historicity of places mentioned in the works of Homer and an archaeologi ...
at Athens. Margaret and Sophia had a visit for several hours, during which Evans examined the Mycenaean antiquities at hand with Heinrich.
Meanwhile, the Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...
, an adjunct of 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 the ...
, was in a chaotic state of transition. It had been a natural history museum, but the collections had been transferred to other museums. The lower floor housed some art and archaeology, but the upper floor was being used for university functions. John Henry Parker, appointed the first keeper in 1870, had the task of trying to manage it. His efforts to negotiate with the art collector C. Drury E. Fortnum, over housing his extensive collection, were being undercut by university administrators. In January 1884, Parker died. The museum was in the hands of its assistant keepers, one of whom, Edward Evans (no relation), was to be Evans's executive during Evans's extended absences.
The strategy for the museum now was to convert it to an art and archaeology museum, expanding the remaining collections . In November 1883, Fortnum wrote to Evans asking for his assistance in locating some letters in the Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
that would help to validate a noted ring in his collection; he did so on the advice of John Evans of the Society of Antiquaries. Unable to find the letters, Arthur Evans suggested Fortnum visit Oxford. Fortnum in fact was becoming dissatisfied with rivals for his collection, the South Kensington Museum, because of their "lack of a properly informed and competent person as keeper." Evans had the right qualifications and took the position of keeper at the Ashmolean when it was offered.
In 1884, therefore, Evans, at the age of 34, was appointed Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum. He held a grand inauguration at which he outlined his planned changes, publishing it as ''The Ashmolean as a Home of Archaeology in Oxford''. Already the great frontage building had been erected. Evans took it in the direction of being an archaeology museum. He insisted the artefacts be transferred back to the museum, negotiated for and succeeded in acquiring Fortnum's collections, later gave his father's collections to the museum, and finally, bequeathed his own Minoan collections, not without the intended effect. Today it has the finest Minoan assemblages outside Crete. He also persuaded Fortnum to donate £10,000 to build the extensive rooms behind the impressive façade, buildings which have recently been demolished to make way for the new Ashmolean Museum.
Evans gave the Ilchester Lectures
The Ilchester Lectures are a series of academic lectures in the University of Oxford, England, founded by William Fox-Strangways, 4th Earl of Ilchester (1795–1865).
History
Lord Ilchester was a diplomat representing Great Britain and Ireland an ...
for 1884 on the Slavonic conquest of Illyricum, which remained unpublished.
Archaeologist
Excavations at Aylesford
A cemetery of the British Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ire ...
discovered in 1886 at Aylesford in Kent was excavated under the leadership of Evans, and published in 1890. With the later excavation by others at Swarling
Petham is a rural village and civil parish in the North Downs, five miles south of Canterbury in Kent, South East England.
The village church is All Saints, Petham and is Grade I listed. It was built in the 13th century but suffered from a fire ...
not far away (discovery to publication was 1921–1925) this is the type site
In archaeology, a type site is the site used to define a particular archaeological culture or other typological unit, which is often named after it. For example, discoveries at La Tène and Hallstatt led scholars to divide the European Iron A ...
for Aylesford-Swarling pottery
Aylesford-Swarling pottery is part of a tradition of wheel-thrown pottery distributed around Kent, Essex, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire and named after two cemeteries in Kent dating to the 1st century BC. The tradition reached Britain with the so- ...
or the Aylesford-Swarling culture, which included the first wheel-made pottery in Britain. Evans's conclusion that the site belonged to a culture closely related to the continental Belgae
The Belgae () were a large confederation of tribes living in northern Gaul, between the English Channel, the west bank of the Rhine, and the northern bank of the river Seine, from at least the third century BC. They were discussed in depth by Ju ...
, remains the modern view, though the dating has been refined to the period after about 75 BC. His analysis of the site was still regarded as "an outstanding contribution to Iron Age studies" with "a masterly consideration of the metalwork" by Sir Barry Cunliffe
Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe, (born 10 December 1939), known as Barry Cunliffe, is a British archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been an Emeri ...
in 2012.
End and beginning
In 1893, Evans's way of life as a married, middling archaeologist, puttering around the Ashmolean, and travelling extensively and perpetually on holiday with his beloved Margaret, came to an abrupt end, leaving emotional devastation in its wake and changing the course of his life. Freeman died in March 1892. Always of precarious health, he had heard that Spain had a salubrious climate. Travelling there to test the hypothesis and perhaps improve his physical condition, he contracted smallpox and was gone in a few days. His oldest daughter did not survive him long. Always of precarious health herself – she is said to have had tuberculosis – she was too weak to prepare her father's papers for publication, so she delegated the task to a family friend, Reverend William Stephens.
In October of that year Evans took her to visit Boar's Hill
Boars Hill is a hamlet southwest of Oxford, straddling the boundary between the civil parishes of Sunningwell and Wootton. Historically, part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.
History
The earliest kn ...
, near Oxford. He wanted to buy 60 acres to build a home for Margaret on the hill. She approved the location, so he convinced his father to put up the money. Then he had the tops of the pines cut, eight feet from the ground, on which he had built a platform and a log cabin to serve as a temporary quarters while the mansion was being built. His intent was to keep her from the cold, damp ground. Apparently she never lived there. They were away again for the winter, Margaret to winter with her sister in Bordighera
Bordighera (; lij, A Bordighea, locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Imperia, Liguria (Italy).
Geography
Bordighera is located from the land border between Italy and France, and it is possible to see the French coast with a nak ...
, Evans to Sicily to complete the last volume of the history he and Freeman had begun together.
In February Evans met John Myres
Sir John Linton Myres Kt OBE FBA FRAI (3 July 1869 in Preston – 6 March 1954 in Oxford) was a British archaeologist and academic, who conducted excavations in Cyprus in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Life
He was the son of t ...
, a student at the British School, in Athens. The two shopped the flea markets looking for antiquities. Evans purchased some seal stones inscribed with a mysterious writing, said to have come from Crete. Then he met Margaret in Bordighera. The two started back to Athens, but en route, in Alassio, Italy she was overtaken by a severe attack. On 11 March 1893, after experiencing painful spasms for two hours, she died with Evans holding her hand, of an unknown disease, perhaps tuberculosis, although the symptoms fit a heart attack also. He was 42; she, 45.
Margaret was buried in the English cemetery at Alassio. Her epitaph says, in part, "Her bright, energetic spirit, undaunted by suffering to the last, and ever working for the welfare of those around her, made a short life long." Evans placed on the grave a wreath he wove himself of margarite
Margarite is a calcium rich member of the mica group of the phyllosilicates with formula: Ca Al2(Al2 Si2) O10(O H)2. It forms white to pinkish or yellowish gray masses or thin laminae. It crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system. It typical ...
and wild broom
A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...
, expressive of their innermost feelings, commemorating the event with a private poem, ''To Margaret my beloved wife'', not published until after his death decades later:
:"Of Margarites and mountain heath
:And scented broom so white –
:Such as herself she plucked, – a wreath
:I wreathe for her tonight.
:...
:For she was open as the air
:Pure as the blue of heaven
:And truer love – or pearl so rare
:To man was never given."
To his father he wrote:[ "I do not think anyone can ever know what Margaret has been to me." He never married again. For the rest of his life he wrote on black-bordered stationery. He went ahead with the mansion he had planned to build for Margaret on ]Boars Hill
Boars Hill is a Hamlet (place), hamlet southwest of Oxford, straddling the boundary between the Civil parishes in England, civil parishes of Sunningwell and Wootton, Vale of White Horse, Wootton. Historically, part of Berkshire until the Local ...
, against the advice of his father, who regarded it as wasteful and useless. He called it Youlbury, after the name of the locality.
Waiting for the future
After Margaret's death Evans wandered aimlessly around Liguria
Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
ostensibly looking at Terramare Culture
Terramare, terramara, or terremare is a technology complex mainly of the central Po valley, in Emilia, Northern Italy, dating to the Middle and Late Bronze Age c. 1700–1150 BC. It takes its name from the "black earth" residue of settleme ...
sites and for Neolithic remains in Ligurian caves. Then he revisited the locations of his youthful explorations in Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
. Finally he returned to live a hermit-like existence in the cabin he had built for her. The Ashmolean no longer interested him. He complained to Fortnum in a late, childish display of sibling rivalry, that his father had had another child, his half-sister Joan. After a year of grief the mounting tension in Crete began to attract his interest. Knossos
Knossos (also Cnossos, both pronounced ; grc, Κνωσός, Knōsós, ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe's oldest city.
Settled as early as the Neolithic period, the na ...
was now known to be a major site, thanks to Evans's old friend and fellow journalist in Bosnia, William James Stillman
William James Stillman (June 1, 1828July 6, 1901) was an American journalist, diplomat, author, historian, and photographer. Educated as an artist, Stillman subsequently converted to the profession of journalism, working primarily as a war corre ...
. Another old friend, Federico Halbherr
Federico Halbherr (Rovereto, then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, 15 February 1857 – Rome, 17 July 1930) was an Italian archaeologist and epigrapher, known for his excavations of Crete. A contemporary, good friend, and trusted advisor of Arth ...
, the Italian archaeologist and future excavator of Phaistos
Phaistos ( el, Φαιστός, ; Ancient Greek: , , Minoan: PA-I-TO?http://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/download/11991/4031&ved=2ahUKEwjor62y3bHoAhUEqYsKHZaZArAQFjASegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw1MwIv3ekgX-SxkJrbORipd ), also transliterated as Phaestos, ...
, was keeping him posted on developments at Knossos by mail.
Archaeologists from the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Italy were in attendance at the site watching the progress, so to speak, of the "sick man of Europe
"Sick man of Europe" is a label given to a nation which is located in some part of Europe and experiencing a time of economic difficulty or impoverishment.
Emperor Nicholas I of the Russian Empire is considered to be the first to use the term " ...
", a metaphor of the dying Ottoman Empire. The various pasha
Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, gener ...
s, eager not to offend the native Cretan parliament, were encouraging foreigners to apply for a firman
A firman ( fa, , translit=farmân; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods they were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The word firman com ...
to excavate, and then not granting any. The Cretans were afraid of the Ottomans' removing any artefacts to Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
. The Ottoman method of stalling was to require any would-be excavators to buy the site from its native owners first. The owners in turn were coached to charge so much money that none would think it worthwhile to apply in such uncertain circumstances. Even the wealthy Schliemann had given up on the price in 1890 and had gone home to die in that year.
In 1894, Evans became intrigued by the idea that the script engraved on the stones he had purchased before Margaret's death might be Cretan, and steamed off to Heraklion to join the circle of watchers. During his year of tending to the details of Youlbury, administering the Ashmolean, and writing some minor papers, he had also discovered the script on some other jewellery that came to the museum from Myres in Crete. He announced that he had concluded to a Mycenaean hieroglyphic script of about 60 characters. Shortly he wrote to his friend and patron at the Ashmolean, Charles Fortnum, that he was "very restless" and must go to Crete.
Arriving in Heraklion he did not join his friends immediately, but took the opportunity to examine the excavations at Knossos. Seeing the sign of the double axe almost immediately he knew that he was at the home of the script. He used the Cretan Exploration Fund, devised on the model of the Palestine Exploration Fund
The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society based in London. It was founded in 1865, shortly after the completion of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem, and is the oldest known organization in the world created specifically for the study ...
, to acquire the site. The owners would not sell to individuals, who could not afford it, but they would sell to a fund. Apparently Evans did not bother to explain that he was the only contributor. He bought 1/4 of the site with first option to buy the rest later. The firman was still in deficit. Politics in Crete were taking a violent turn however. Anything might happen. Evans returned to London to wind up his affairs there and make sure the Ashmolean had suitable direction in the event of his further absence.
Religious violence in Crete
In 1898, he became one of the first reporters of the ethnic cleansing of Turkish Cretans by Greek forces.[ In September 1898, the last of the Turkish troops withdrew from Crete. Their withdrawal did not however presage peace, and religious violence against the Muslim minority ensued. The British Army forbade travel for any reason with checkpoints set up to enforce this. Despite this Evans, Myres and Hogarth returned to Crete together, Evans in his capacity as a journalist for the ''Manchester Guardian''. He took a combative stance in his journalism, criticising the Ottoman empire for its 'corruption' and the British empire for 'collaborating with the Ottomans.' Many officials of that empire had been Greek. Now they were working with the British to build a Cretan government. Evans accused these officials of being part of "the Turco-British regime". He deplored religiously motivated violence, be it from Muslims or Christians. His critical journalism caused friction with the local administration, and he was forced to call on friends higher up in the government to avoid problems.
Evans travelled widely in his reporting. He saw that the Muslim population was now on the decline, some being massacred, and some abandoning the island. One of the episodes he reported on was a massacre at Eteà. The Muslim villagers had been attacked by Christians in the night. They sought refuge in a mosque. The next day they were promised clemency if they would disarm themselves. Handing over their weapons, they were lined up, having been told they were to be re-settled. Instead, they were shot, the only survivor being a small girl who had a cape thrown over her to conceal her.
Prince George was keen to avoid such massacres, and establish a functioning government on the island. In 1899 a cross-confessional government was established as part of a republican Crete.
]
Discovery of Minoan civilisation
Now that the restriction of the Ottoman firman was removed, there was a great rush on the part of all the other archaeologists to obtain first permission to dig from the new Cretan government. They soon found that Evans had a monopoly. Using the Cretan Exploration Fund, now being swollen by contributions from others, he paid off the debt for the land. Then he ordered stores from Britain. He hired two foremen, and they hired 32 diggers. He started work on the flower-covered hill in March 1900.
Assisted by Duncan Mackenzie
Duncan Mackenzie (17 May 1861 – 1934) was a Scottish archaeologist, whose work focused on one of the more spectacular 20th century archaeological finds, Crete's palace of Knossos, the proven centre of Minoan civilisation.
Early biography
D ...
, who had already distinguished himself by his excavations on the island of Melos
Milos or Melos (; el, label=Modern Greek, Μήλος, Mílos, ; grc, Μῆλος, Mêlos) is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. Milos is the southwesternmost island in the Cyclades group.
The ''Venus d ...
, and Mr Fyfe, an architect from the British School at Athens
, image = Image-Bsa athens library.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, image_upright=
, alt=
, caption = The library of the BSA
, latin_name=
, motto=
, founder = The Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, called the foundation meeti ...
, Evans employed a large staff of local labourers as excavators, and began work in 1900. Within a few months they had uncovered a substantial portion of what he called the Palace of Minos. The term "palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
" may be misleading; Knossos was an intricate collection of over 1000 interlocking rooms, some of which served as artisans' workrooms and food processing centres (e.g. wine presses). It served as a central storage point, and a religious and administrative centre.
On the basis of the ceramic evidence and stratigraphy
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock (geology), rock layers (Stratum, strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary rock, sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks.
Stratigrap ...
, Evans concluded that there was another civilisation on Crete that had existed before those brought to light by the adventurer-archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann
Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann (; 6 January 1822 – 26 December 1890) was a German businessman and pioneer in the field of archaeology. He was an advocate of the historicity of places mentioned in the works of Homer and an archaeologi ...
at Mycenae
Mycenae ( ; grc, Μυκῆναι or , ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos; and south of Corinth. Th ...
and Tiryns
Tiryns or (Ancient Greek: Τίρυνς; Modern Greek: Τίρυνθα) is a Mycenaean archaeological site in Argolis in the Peloponnese, and the location from which the mythical hero Heracles performed his Twelve Labours. It lies south of Myce ...
. The small ruin of Knossos spanned and the palace had a maze-like quality that reminded Evans of the labyrinth described in Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
. In the myth, the labyrinth had been built by King Minos
In Greek mythology, Minos (; grc-gre, Μίνως, ) was a King of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years, he made King Aegeus pick seven young boys and seven young girls to be sent to Daedalus's creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten ...
to hide the Minotaur
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...
, a half-man half-bull creature that was the offspring of Minos's wife, Pasiphae, and a bull. Evans dubbed the civilisation once inhabiting this great palace the Minoan civilisation.
By 1903, most of the palace was excavated, bringing to light an advanced city containing artwork and many examples of writing. Painted on the walls of the palace were numerous scenes depicting bulls, leading Evans to conclude that the Minoans did indeed worship the bull. In 1905 he finished excavations. He then proceeded to have the room called the throne room
A throne room or throne hall is the room, often rather a hall, in the official residence of the crown, either a palace or a fortified castle, where the throne of a senior figure (usually a monarch) is set up with elaborate pomp—usually raised, ...
(due to the throne-like stone chair fixed in the room) repainted by a father-and-son team of Swiss artists, the Émile Gilliéron Junior and Senior. While Evans based the recreations on archaeological evidence, some of the best-known frescoes from the throne room were almost complete inventions of the Gilliérons, according to his critics.
Senior trustee
All the excavations at Knossos were done on leave of absence from the museum. "While the Keeper’s salary was not generous, the conditions of residence were very liberal ... the keeper could and should travel to secure new acquisitions". But in 1908 at the age of 57 he resigned his position to concentrate on writing up his Minoan work. In 1912 he refused the opportunity to become president of the Society of Antiquaries, a position which his father had already held. But in 1914 at the age of 63, when he was too old to take part in the War, he took on the presidency of the Antiquaries which carried with it an ex officio appointment as a Trustee of the British Museum and he spent the War successfully fighting the War Office who wanted to commandeer the museum for the Air Board.
He thus played a major role in the history of the British Museum as well as in the history of the Ashmolean Museum.
Major creative works
Scripta Minoa
During excavations by Evans, he found 3000 clay tablets, which he transcribed and organised, publishing them in ''Scripta Minoa''. As some of them are now missing, the transcriptions are the only source of the marks on the tablets. He perceived that the scripts were two different and mutually exclusive writing systems, which later he termed into Linear A and Linear B. The A script appeared to have preceded the B. Evans dated the Linear B Chariot Tablets, so called from their depictions of chariots, at Knossos to immediately prior to the catastrophic Minoan civilisation collapse of the 15th century BC.
One of Evans's theses in the 1901 ''Scripta Minoa'', is that most of the symbols for the Phoenician alphabet
The Phoenician alphabet is an alphabet (more specifically, an abjad) known in modern times from the Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions found across the Mediterranean region. The name comes from the Phoenician civilization.
The Phoenician alpha ...
(abjad
An abjad (, ar, أبجد; also abgad) is a writing system in which only consonants are represented, leaving vowel sounds to be inferred by the reader. This contrasts with other alphabets, which provide graphemes for both consonants and vowels ...
) are almost identical to the many centuries older, 19th century BC, Cretan hieroglyphs
Cretan hieroglyphs are a hieroglyphic writing system used in early Bronze Age Crete, during the Minoan era. They predate Linear A by about a century, but the two writing systems continued to be used in parallel for most of their history. , the ...
.
The basic part of the discussion about Phoenician alphabet
The Phoenician alphabet is an alphabet (more specifically, an abjad) known in modern times from the Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions found across the Mediterranean region. The name comes from the Phoenician civilization.
The Phoenician alpha ...
in ''Scripta Minoa, Vol. 1'' takes place in the section ''Cretan Philistines and the Phoenician Alphabet''. Modern scholars now see it as a continuation of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet
Proto-Canaanite is the name given to
:(a) the Proto-Sinaitic script when found in Canaan, dating to about the 17th century BC and later.
:(b) a hypothetical ancestor of the Phoenician script before some cut-off date, typically 1050 BCE, with an u ...
from ca. 1400 BC, adapted to writing a Canaanite (Northwest Semitic) language. The Phoenician alphabet seamlessly continues the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, by convention called Phoenician from the mid-11th century, where it is first attested on inscribed bronze arrowheads.
Evans had no better luck with Linear B, which turned out to be Greek. Despite decades of theories, Linear A has not been convincingly deciphered, nor even the language group identified. His classifications and careful transcriptions have been of great value to Mycenaean scholars.
Honours
He was a member and officer of many learned societies
A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership may ...
, including being elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
(FRS) in 1901. He was elected a foreign member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...
in 1918. He won the Lyell Medal
The Lyell Medal is a prestigious annual scientific medal given by the Geological Society of London, equal in status to the Murchison Medal. This medal is awarded based on one Earth Scientist's exceptional contribution of research to the scientific ...
in 1880 and the Copley Medal
The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society, for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science". It alternates between the physical sciences or mathematics and the biological sciences. Given every year, the medal is t ...
in 1936. In 1911, Evans was 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 ...
by King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
for his services to archaeology and is commemorated both at Knossos and at the Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...
, which holds the largest collection of Minoan artefacts outside of Greece. He received an honorary doctorate (D.Litt.
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...
) from the University of Dublin
The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...
in June 1901.
Other legacies
In 1913 he paid £100 to double the amount paid with the studentship in memory of Augustus Wollaston Franks
Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks (20 March 182621 May 1897) was a British antiquarian and museum administrator. Franks was described by Marjorie Caygill, historian of the British Museum, as "arguably the most important collector in the history of ...
, established jointly by 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 ...
and the Society of Antiquaries, which was won that year by Mortimer Wheeler
Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler CH CIE MC TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeologist and officer in the British Army. Over the course of his career, he served as Director of both the National Museum of Wales an ...
.
From 1894 until his death in 1941 Evans lived in his house, Youlbury, which has since been demolished. He had Jarn Mound
Jarn Mound is a mound on Boars Hill which was completed in 1931. It was commissioned by Sir Arthur Evans to provide and preserve the view of the "dreaming spires" of Oxford and the surroundings which the poet Matthew Arnold had immortalised ...
and its surrounding wild garden built during the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
to make work for local out-of-work labourers. The mound and wild garden, with species from around the world, is now held by the Oxford Preservation Trust
The Oxford Preservation Trust was founded in 1927 to preserve the city of Oxford, England. The Trust seeks to enhance Oxford by encouraging thoughtful development and new design, while protecting historic buildings and green open spaces.
The T ...
.
Evans left part of his estate to the Boy Scouts
Boy Scouts may refer to:
* Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement.
* Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement.
* An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...
and Youlbury Camp is still available for their use.
See also
Notes
Bibliography
By Evans
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* olume 1, Volume 2 Parts 1&2, Volume 3, Volume 4 Parts 1&2, Index by Joan Evans
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Further reading
* Markoe, Glenn E. (2000). ''Phoenicians''. University of California Press. (hardback).
* Powell, Dilys (1973). ''The Villa Ariadne''. Originally published by Hodder & Stoughton, London.
* Ross, J. (1990). ''Chronicle of the 20th Century''. Chronicle Australia Pty Ltd. .
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Arthur
1851 births
1941 deaths
19th-century archaeologists
20th-century archaeologists
Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford
Archaeologists of the Bronze Age Aegean
English archaeologists
Fellows of the British Academy
Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering
Fellows of the Royal Society
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Knights Bachelor
Matriarchy
Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Minoan archaeologists
People associated with the Ashmolean Museum
People educated at Harrow School
People from Hemel Hempstead
People from Vale of White Horse (district)
Presidents of the British Science Association
Presidents of the Royal Numismatic Society
Presidents of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Recipients of the Copley Medal
Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal