Veronica Seton-Williams
Veronica Seton-Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 April 1910 Melbourne, Australia |
| Died | 29 May 1992 (aged 82) |
| Nationality | British Australian |
| Known for | Excavations at Barkhale Camp, Buto, Sheikh es-Zuweid, Jericho, Mersin, Maiden Castle, Dorset |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | archaeologist |
Veronica Seton-Williams (20 April 1910 – 29 May 1992) FSA, was a British-Australian archaeologist who excavated in Egypt and the Near East, as well as in Britain. She studied history and political science at the University of Melbourne and then Egyptology and prehistory at University College London.
Biography
Veronica Seton-Williams was born in Melbourne, Australia, the daughter of Seton Gordon Nixon Williams (1856–1927), a lawyer, and Eliza Mary (Ellie) Staughton (1875–1947).[1]
She was educated at home until 1925 when she attended
She learned to speak Arabic in order to supervise Arab workmen on dig sites.[5] Riots and civil disturbances sometimes disrupted the work and one of her fellow archaeologists, James Starkey, was shot dead.[6]
During the Second World War she worked as an ambulance driver and in the Postal Censorship Department and in the British Council's Ministry of Information.[7]
In 1949 Seton-Williams worked on renewed excavations at Sakçe Gözü, in Turkey, a site previously excavated by John Garstang. In 1956,1960 and 1964, she excavated at Tell Rifa'at in Syria. In 1964, she was appointed field director of the Egypt Exploration Society's excavations at Buto (1964–1968), where she worked alongside Dorothy Charlesworth who became field director in 1969.[8][9]
She completed her PhD in 1957.
Between 1958 and 1961 she led excavations at
Seton-Williams taught Egyptian and Mesopotamian archaeology for 25 years at the University of London, during which time she frequently collaborated with colleagues
She published in English and French. Her works include Britain and the Arab states (1948), Egyptian stories and Legends (1988), Egypt (Blue guides) (1988), and many more.
She was living in Balsham, Cambridgeshire when she died on 29 May 1992.[14]
References
- ^ M. V. Seton-Williams, "The Road to El-Aguzein", 1988.
- ^ M. V. Seton-Williams, "The Road to El-Aguzein", 1988, 23, 113.
- ^ M. L. Bierbrier (eds.), "Who was who in egyptology", 2012, 503-504
- ^ Curwen (1936), p. 61.
- ^ "Archaeological quest". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miner's Advocate. 28 October 1936. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
- ^ Gilruth, Margaret (20 November 1938). "Girl braves rigours of desert". Sunday Mail. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
- ^ M. V. Seton-Williams, "The Road to El-Aguzein", 1988, 95-96.
- ^ "1969 Tell el-Fara'in | Artefacts of Excavation". Artefacts of Excavation British Excavations in Egypt 1880-1980. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
- ^ M. L. Bierbrier (eds.), "Who was who in Egyptology", 2012, 503
- ^ "Obituary, Veronica Seton-Williams". The Times. 6 June 1992.
- ^ Leach (1983), p. 11.
- ^ M. L. Bierbrier (eds.), "Who was who in egyptology", 2012, 504
- ^ R. Janssen, "The First Hundred Years: Egyptology at University College London, 1892–1992", 1992, 38
- ^ "Deaths". Newsletter of the Society for Nautical Research (8): 12. November 1992.
Sources
- Curwen, E.C. (1936). "Excavations in Whitehawk Camp, Brighton, Third Season, 1935". Sussex Archaeological Collections. 77: 60–92. doi:10.5284/1085805.
- Leach, P.E. (1983). "The Excavation of a Neolithic Causewayed Enclosure on Barkhale Down, Bignor Hill, West Sussex". Sussex Archaeological Collections. 121: 11–30. ISSN 0143-8204.
