John Garstang

John Garstang (5 May 1876 – 12 September 1956) was a British archaeologist of the Ancient Near East, especially Egypt, Sudan, Anatolia and the southern Levant. He was the younger brother of Professor Walter Garstang, FRS, a marine biologist and zoologist. Garstang is considered a pioneer in the development of scientific practices in archaeology as he kept detailed records of his excavations with extensive photographic records, which was a comparatively rare practice in early 20th-century archaeology.[1]

For the English footballer, see John Garstang (footballer).

John Garstang
John Garstang aged 80
Born(1876-05-05)5 May 1876
Blackburn, England
Died12 September 1956(1956-09-12) (aged 80)
Beirut, Lebanon
Alma materJesus College, Oxford
Scientific career
FieldsArchaeology
InstitutionsUniversity of Liverpool, Department of Antiquities of Mandatory Palestine
Doctoral advisorFrancis J. Haverfield
Museum display with artefacts and images relating to John Garstang. A black and white photograph of Garstang is displayed in the centre, under the signature of Garstang and the Garstang Museum logo.
Garstang Museum of Archaeology, University of Liverpool. Redeveloped in 2014, the museum features artefacts and photographs from Garstang excavations in Egypt, Sudan, Anatolia and the Levant.
John Garstang on site at Beni Hassan
John Garstang on site at Beni Hassan, from the glass plate negative collection at the Garstang Museum of Archaeology. Negative number JG/B/675.
John Garstang's theodolite, Hunterian Museum, Glasgow

Biography

John Garstang was born in Blackburn on 5 May 1876, the sixth child of Walter and Matilda Garstang.[1] He was educated at Blackburn Grammar School and in 1895 he obtained a scholarship for Jesus College, Oxford to study mathematics.[1] While at Oxford, Garstang became interested in archaeology and conducted excavations at Ribchester.[1] Encouraged to take up archaeology, Garstang excavated other Romano-British sites during his vacations from Oxford.[1]

After gaining a 3rd from Oxford in 1899, Garstang joined the team of Flinders Petrie at Abydos. He excavated various sites in the vicinity, including the discovery of the great tombs at Beit Khallaf in 1901. In 1902 he carried out his first independent excavation in Egypt at Reqaqnah. The excavation was funded by an excavation committee, a group of wealthy donors who in turn would receive a selection of objects from Garstang's excavations in exchange for their patronage.[2] Like Petrie before him, Garstang would continue to use Excavation Committees to fund his excavations for most of his career.[1]

In 1902, Garstang was also appointed the honorary reader in Egyptian archaeology at the University of Liverpool.[1] In 1904, Garstang founded the Institute of Archaeology, which was affiliated with the university.[3] Largely funded by private benefactors, the Institute contained both a library and a museum, intended to support the work of the staff and the teaching of its students. In 2004, this museum was officially renamed the Garstang Museum of Archaeology, to celebrate the centenary of the foundation of the Institute.[4]

From 1907–41, Garstang was the first professorship in the methods and practice of archaeology at the university. On behalf of the institute, Garstang excavated sites in Egypt, Sudan and the Near East up to the out break of World War I. Some of his assistant excavators include E. Harold Jones, English artist and illustrator.

He served as the Director of the Department of Antiquities in the British Mandate of Palestine between 1920–26, and excavated at Ashkelon, 1920–21. He was also the Head of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem, 1919–26. He also carried out a major excavation of Jericho from 1930–36, funded by Sir Charles Marston.[5]

He taught at the Egyptology section of the Faculty of Arts when this was established in the 1920s. One of his students was Pahor Labib, late Director of the Coptic Museum, Cairo.[6]

From 1936 to the outbreak of World War II, Garstang excavated Yümük Tepe near Mersin.[1] Garstang returned to Turkey after the War, and finished the excavation in 1948.[1] In 1948, Garstang founded the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, assisted by other Anatolian archaeologists including Winifred Lamb, and acted as its first director (he was succeeded by Seton Lloyd).[7]

Personal biography

Garstang married Marie Louise Berges, from France, in 1907. Over the years, Marie travelled extensively with him.[8] "When in England,they lived in Formby, near Liverpool, where Marie died in 1949. He died some years later, in Beirut, on the return journey from a holiday cruise. It was 1956 and he was eighty years old. They had two children, John Berges Garstang who died in 1965, aged 57 years, and, Meroe Fleming (born Garstang), who died in 1994 at the age of 79 years."[9]

Garstang's posthumous monograph The Geography of the Hittite Empire was completed with the help of his sister R. Garstang and his colleague Oliver Gurney after John was disabled by illness in 1953.[10] Gurney's wife, Diane Grazebrook, provided the maps.

Excavations

Garstang excavated at various sites in his career, including:

Publications

Primary sources
  • The Garstang Museum of Archaeology, University of Liverpool, holds a large collection of John Garstang's archaeological and photographic records,1900-1936, including records from El-Mahasna; Bet Khallaf; Reqaqnah; Beni Hasan; Hierakonpolis; Hissayeh; Esna; Kostamneh; Dakka; Abydos; his survey of Hittite sites in Anatolia; Sakçagözü; Meroë; Jericho. (Reference Number: GB/3431/JG).[12]
  • University College, London Archives holds a collection of John Garstang's papers, including material relating to Beisan, Boğazkale, Hazor, and Jericho; albums and other material relating to Yümük Tepe near Mersin; rolled diagrams relating to Sakçagözü; plans relating to Ashkelon. (Reference No: UCLCA/IA/A/17).[13]
  • The Palestine Exploration Fund Archives hold Garstang's field notebooks, drawings, papers and photographs, 1930–1936, (Reference Number: PEF/JER/GAR).[14]
  • The Abbey House Museum hold Garstang's diaries and papers relating to Jericho, (Reference Number: JC).[15]

Further research

Many of Garstang's excavations were never fully published in his lifetime and have subsequently been published by other authors after his death:

  • Downes, Dorothy (1974). The Excavations at Esna, 1905-1906. Aris & Phillips. ISBN 0856680060.
  • Adams, Barbara (1987). The Fort Cemetery at Hierakonpolis. (Excavated by John Garstang). Studies in Egyptology. London: KPI. ISBN 0-7103-0275-4. [16]
  • Adams, Barbara (1995). Ancient Nekhen: Garstang in the City of Hierakonpolis. Egyptian Studies Association Publication. Vol. 3. New Malden: SIA Publishing. ISBN 1872561039.
  • Török, László (1997). Meroe City: An Ancient African Capital: John Garstang's Excavations in the Sudan. London: Egypt Exploration Society. ISBN 0-85698-137-0.

Further reading

References
  1. Gurney, O R; Freeman, P W M (May 2012). "Garstang, John (1876–1956)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33341. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  2. (PDF). 17 June 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160617142729/https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/research/directory/material_culture_wengrow/Anna_Garnett.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. Garstang Museum of Archaeology, About the Museum, University of Liverpool, archived from the original on 12 October 2016, retrieved 22 May 2016
  4. "About us - Garstang Museum - University of Liverpool". www.liverpool.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  5. Palestine Exploration Fund, Professor John Garstang, 1876-1956, Palestine Exploration Fund, archived from the original on 22 June 2011, retrieved 22 May 2016
  6. Martin Krause, Essays on the Nag Hammad Texts - In Honour of Pahor Labib, Brill, Leiden, 1975, p. 1
  7. Gill, David W. J. (2018). Winifred Lamb : Aegean prehistorian and museum curator. Oxford: Archaeopress. pp. 214–5. ISBN 978-1784918798. OCLC 1042418677.
  8. Parrot, André; Masson, Olivier (1957). "Nécrologie". Syria. Archéologie, Art et histoire. pp. 400–404. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  9. "Professor John Garstang". cottontown.org. Community History, Blackburn Central Library.
  10. Garstang, The Geography of the Hittite Empire (1959) p. v "he suffered a severe illness, from which he never fully recovered, and although work on this undertaking continued constantly it became increasingly unproductive. It was not until his sister, Mrs. R. Gurney, offered her help that real progress was made. During 1956 what had already been written was revised, the remaining sections were drafted by her and read to professor Garstang for his approval, and by the time of his departure on his last journey in August 1956 the first draft of the whole book was completed. It was clear that some further revision would be necessary, and Professor Garstang placed the manuscript unreservedly at the disposal of Mrs. Gurney and myself to bring it up to the standard required for publication. During the winter of 1956-7 it was largely rewritten. ... The maps are the work of my (ie. Oliver Gurney's) wife."
  11. Hand-drawn map, Garstang Museum, University of Liverpool. Accessed November 2020.
  12. Archives Hub. "gb3431-jg". Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  13. UCL Archives. "UCLCA/IA/A/17". UCL. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  14. The National Archives. "field notebooks, drawings, papers and photographs". The National Archives. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  15. The National Archives. "diaries and papers rel to Jericho". The National Archives. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  16. Obituary, Harry Smith, The Guardian, 13 July 2002, Retrieved 11 October 2016

See also
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