Peter Megaw
Peter Megaw Director of the British School at Athens (1962–1968) | |
---|---|
Spouse |
Elektra Elena Mangoletsi
(m. 1937–1993) |
Relatives | Eric Megaw, Basil Megaw (brothers) |
Academic background | |
Education | Campbell College |
Alma mater | Peterhouse, Cambridge |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Department of Antiquities, Cyprus Dumbarton Oaks Byzantine Institute of America British School at Athens |
Arthur Hubert Stanley "Peter" Megaw,
Early life
Megaw was born on 20 July 1910 at Portobello House nursing home in
Career
Megaw never held an academic post at a university.[2] He spent 75 years 'working on the study and preservation of the monuments of the Christian East'.[4]
He first joined the British School at Athens as Walston Student in 1931,[4] to study Byzantine architecture.[1]
He served as the first[5] Director of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus between 1935 and 1960.[4] In Cyprus he excavated the Kourion episcopal basilica and the Medieval fortress at Saranta Kolones.
With the independence of Cyprus form British Rule in 1960, he spent two short, successive posts at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington DC, United States of America and at the Byzantine Institute of America in Istanbul, Turkey.[1] He served as Director of the British School at Athens from 1962 to 1968.[4] Following his early retirement from the directorship, he joined the Harvard Centre for Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks as a visiting scholar. He spent the remaining years of the 1960s and the 1970s splitting his time between Cyprus and the United States.[2]
Megaw's work can be seen in the photographic collection held at the Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art.[6]
Later life
Megaw died of cancer on 28 June 2006 at his London home in Hampstead. He was cremated on 20 July 2006 at Golders Green Crematorium, Golders Green, London.[1]
Personal life
Megaw was known to his friends and colleagues as Peter.[7]
In Cyprus he also acted as a Public Information Officer and an Intelligence Officer on behalf of the Colonial Government.[8]
In 1937, he married Elektra Elena Mangoletsi. She was an artist who was born in 1905. She died in 1993, therefore predeceasing him. They did not have any children.[1]
Honours
In June 1949, he was appointed Serving Brother of the
In 1995, the Society of Antiquaries of London awarded him the Frend medal. This is an award for studies related to the archaeology, history and topography of the early Christian Church.[1] The book Mosaic: festschrift for A.H.S. Megaw was published in 2001 in his honour.[12]
Publications
- Megaw, A. H. (1946). Three vaulted basilicas in Cyprus. The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 66, 48–56.
- Megaw, A. H. (1972). Supplementary excavations on a castle site at Paphos, Cyprus, 1970-1971. Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 323–343.
- Megaw, A. H. S. (1974). Byzantine architecture and decoration in Cyprus: metropolitan or provincial?. Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 28, 57–88.
- Megaw, A. H. (1976). Excavations at the episcopal basilica of Kourion in Cyprus in 1974 and 1975: A preliminary report. Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 30, 345–371.
- Megaw, A. H. S., & Jones, R. E. (1983). Byzantine and allied pottery: A contribution by chemical analysis to problems of origin and distribution. Annual of the British School at Athens, 78, 235–263.
- Megaw, A. H. S. et al. (2007). Kourion. Excavations in the Episcopal Precinct. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. Harvard.
References
- ^ a b c d e f Catling, Hector (January 2010). "Arthur Megaw". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- ^ a b c "Peter Megaw". The Times. 4 August 2006. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
- ^ "(no title)". Isle of Man Times. 12 January 1952. p. 8 – via iMuseum, Manx National Heritage.
{{cite news}}
: Cite uses generic title (help) - ^ S2CID 163271470.
- ^ "Hector Catling". The Telegraph. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
- ^ "Who made the Conway Library?". Digital Media. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ "Robin Sinclair Cormack". Oral History Project. Dumbarton Oaks – Research Library and Collection. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
- JSTOR 30096718.
- ^ "No. 38650". The London Gazette. 24 June 1949. p. 3132.
- ^ "No. 39243". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1951. p. 3083.
- ^ "No. 44404". The London Gazette. 8 September 1967. p. 9801.
- ISBN 0904887405.