Leonard Woolley | |
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 Woolley in 1915 | |
| Born | Charles Leonard Woolley (1880-04-17)17 April 1880 |
| Died | 20 February 1960(1960-02-20) (aged 79) London, England |
| Alma mater | New College, Oxford |
| Known for | excavations atUr inMesopotamia |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Archaeology;military intelligence |
Sir Charles Leonard Woolley (17 April 1880 – 20 February 1960) was a Britisharchaeologist best known for hisexcavations atUr inMesopotamia. He is recognized as one of the first "modern" archaeologists who excavated in a methodical way, keeping careful records, and using them to reconstruct ancient life and history.[1] Woolley was knighted in 1935 for his contributions to the discipline ofarchaeology.[2] He was married to the British archaeologistKatharine Woolley.
Woolley was the son of aclergyman, Rev. George Herbert Woolley, thecurate of St Matthew’s,Upper Clapton, in London, and his wife Sarah.Geoffrey Harold Woolley,VC, andGeorge Cathcart Woolley were his brothers. He was born at 13 Southwold Road,Upper Clapton, in the modernLondon Borough of Hackney[3] and educated atSt John's School, Leatherhead andNew College, Oxford. He was interested in excavations from a young age.
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In 1905, Woolley became assistant of theAshmolean Museum,Oxford. Volunteered byArthur Evans to run the excavations on theRoman site atCorbridge (nearHadrian's Wall) forFrancis Haverfield, Woolley began his excavation career there in 1906, later admitting inSpadework that "I had never studied archaeological methods even from books ... and I had not any idea how to make a survey or a ground-plan" (Woolley 1953:15). Nevertheless, theCorbridge Lion was found under his supervision.[4]
Woolley next travelled toNubia in southern Egypt, where he worked withDavid Randall-MacIver on the Eckley Coxe Expedition to Nubia conducted under the auspices of theUniversity of Pennsylvania Museum. Between 1907 and 1911 they conducted archaeological excavations and survey at sites includingAreika,[5]Buhen,[6] and the Meroitic town ofKaranog.[7] In 1912–1914, withT. E. Lawrence as his assistant, he excavated theHittite city ofCarchemish in Syria. Lawrence and Woolley were apparently working forBritish Naval Intelligence and monitoring the construction of Germany'sBerlin-to-Baghdad railway.[8]
DuringWorld War I, Woolley, with Lawrence, was posted toCairo, where he metGertrude Bell. He then moved toAlexandria, where he was assigned to work on naval espionage. Turkey captured a ship he was on, and held him for two years in a relatively comfortable prisoner-of-war camp. He received theCroix de Guerre from France at the war's end.[9]
In the following years, Woolley returned to Carchemish, and then worked atAmarna in Egypt.[10]
Woolley led a joint expedition of theBritish Museum and theUniversity of Pennsylvania toUr, beginning in 1922, which included his wife, the British archaeologistKatharine Woolley. There, they made important discoveries, including theCopper Bull and theBull-Headed Lyre.[11][12] In the course of excavating theroyal cemetery and the pair ofRam in a Thicket figurines.Agatha Christie's novel,Murder in Mesopotamia, was inspired by the discovery of the royal tombs. Agatha Christie later married Woolley's young assistant,Max Mallowan.
Ur was the burial site of what may have been manySumerian royals. The Woolleys discovered tombs of great material wealth, containing large paintings of ancientSumerian culture at its zenith, along with gold and silver jewellery, cups and other furnishings. The most extravagant tomb was that of "Queen"Pu-Abi. Amazingly enough, Queen Pu-Abi's tomb was untouched by looters. Inside the tomb, many well-preserved items were found, including a cylindrical seal bearing her name inSumerian. Her body was found buried along with those of two attendants, who had presumably been poisoned to continue to serve her after death. Woolley was able to reconstruct Pu-Abi's funeral ceremony from objects found in her tomb.
In 1936, after the discoveries at Ur, Woolley was interested in finding ties between the ancientAegean and Mesopotamian civilisations. This led him to the Syrian city ofAl Mina. He excavatedTell Atchana in the years 1937–1939 and 1946–1949. His team discovered palaces, temples, private houses and fortification walls, in 17 archaeological levels, reaching from late Early Bronze Age (c. 2200–2000 BC) to Late Bronze Age (c. 13th century BC). Among their finds was the inscribed statue ofIdrimi, a king of Alalakh c. early 15th century BC.[13][14]
Woolley was one of the first archaeologists to propose that theflood described in theBook of Genesis was local after identifying a flood-stratum atUr "400 miles long and 100 miles wide; but for the occupants of the valley that was the whole world".[15][16]
His archaeological career was interrupted by the United Kingdom's entry intoWorld War II, and he became part of theMonuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section of the Allied armies.[17] After the war, he returned toAlalakh, where he continued to work from 1946 until 1949.[18]
Woolley marriedKatharine Elizabeth Keeling (née Menke; born June 1888 – died 8 November 1945), who was born in England to German parents and had previously been married to Lieut. Col. Bertram Francis Eardley Keeling (OBE,MC). He had hired Keeling in 1924 as expedition artist and draughtswoman; they married in 1927 and she continued to play an important role at his archaeological sites.[10]
In 1930, Woolley invited his friendAgatha Christie to visit a dig site in Iraq, where she met her second husbandMax Mallowan.
Woolley died at 16 Fitzroy Square, London on 20 February 1960 at age 79. He was cremated atGolders Green on the 24th.[19] Dame Katharine died on 8 November 1945. They had no children.
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