Georgina Herrmann

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Georgina Herrmann

OBE FSA FBA
Born
Herrmann Thompson

(1937-10-20) 20 October 1937 (age 85)
NationalityBritish
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1965;died 2016)​
Children2
Academic background
Alma mater Institute of Archaeology, University of London
St Hugh's College, Oxford
Institutions

Georgina Herrmann, OBE , FSA , FBA (born 20 October 1937) is a British retired archaeologist and academic, specialising in Near Eastern archaeology. Having worked as a civil servant, she later studied archaeology and spent the rest of her career as an active field archaeologist and lecturer. She was Reader in the Archaeology of Western Asia at University College London from 1994 to 2002. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Herrmann was born on 20 October 1937 to John and Gladys Thompson. He first career was as a secretary in the Foreign Office from 1956 to 1961. She then returned to education, and studied for a postgraduate diploma at the Institute of Archaeology, University of London, which she completed in 1963. She then undertook research at St Hugh's College, Oxford, graduating with a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree in 1966. [3] Her doctoral thesis was titled "The source, distribution, history and use of Lapis Lazuli in western Asia from the earliest times to the end of the Seleucid era": [4] this was the first extensive study of the Lapis Lazuli trade originating in Afghanistan. [5] Her doctoral supervisor was Max Mallowan. [6]

Academic career

Herrmann began her academic career as J. R. MacIver Junior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford from 1966 to 1968. She was Calouste Gulbenkian Fellow at the University of Cambridge from 1974 to 1976. She was Regents' Professor at University of California at Berkeley in 1986. [3] From 1985 to 1991, she held a Leverhulme Research Fellowship and was a part-time lecturer at the Institute of Archaeology, University of London. [3] With the Institute merging into University College London (UCL) in 1986, she was a lecturer in Mesopotamian archaeology at UCL from 1991 to 1993 and Reader in the Archaeology of Western Asia from 1993 until she retired in 2002. [3] [7]

Herrmann's early research interests included Sasanian rock reliefs in Iran, the third millennium BCE lapis lazuli trade from Afghanistan, and the Nimrud ivories. [2] In 1992, she became director of the excavations at Merv, a Silk Road oasis site in Turkmenistan. [3] [8] She played a key role in the successful application for Merv to become the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Central Asia, which was granted in 1999. [8]

In retirement, she was a visiting honorary research professor between 2002 and 2020, and she has been emeritus reader since 2020. [3] She was a member of council of the British Academy between 2012 and 2015. [9]

Personal life

In 1965, Georgina Thompson married Luke John Herrmann, [3] a German-born British art historian. [10] Together they had two sons. Her husband predeceased her, dying in 2016. [3]

Honours

On 4 January 1968, Herrmann was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA). [11] In 1996, she was awarded the Rolex Award for Enterprise in Cultural Heritage for her work leading the excavation at Merv. [12] In 1997, she was elected an honorary foreign member of the American Institute of Archaeology. [13] In 1999, she was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences. [9] In 2001, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). [1]

Selected works

Related Research Articles

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Lapis lazuli, or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. As early as the 7th millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mines, in Shortugai, and in other mines in Badakhshan province in modern northeast Afghanistan. Lapis lazuli artifacts, dated to 7570 BC, have been found at Bhirrana, which is the oldest site of Indus Valley civilisation. Lapis was highly valued by the Indus Valley Civilisation. Lapis beads have been found at Neolithic burials in Mehrgarh, the Caucasus, and as far away as Mauritania. It was used in the funeral mask of Tutankhamun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merv</span> Ancient major city in Central Asia

Merv, also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria, Antiochia in Margiana and Marw al-Shāhijān, was a major Iranian city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, near today's Mary, Turkmenistan. Human settlements on the site of Merv existed from the 3rd millennium BC until the 18th century AD. It changed hands repeatedly throughout history. Under the Achaemenid Empire, it was the centre of the satrapy of Margiana. It was subsequently ruled by the ancient Macedonians, Seleucids, Parthians, Sasanians, Arabs, Ghaznavids, Seljuqs, Khwarazmians and Timurids, among others.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Herrmann, Georgina". Who's Who 2018 . Oxford University Press. 1 December 2017. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.19951. ISBN   978-0-19-954088-4.(subscription required)
  2. 1 2 "Dr Georgina Herrmann (Biographical details)". The British Museum. Trustees of the British Museum. Archived from the original on 2 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Herrmann, Georgina, (born 20 Oct. 1937), Reader in the Archaeology of Western Asia, University College London, 1993–2002, Visiting Hon. Research Professor, 2002–20, Emeritus Reader, since 2020". Who's Who 2021 . Oxford University Press. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  4. ↑ Herrmann, Georgina (1967). The source, distribution, history and use of Lapis Lazuli in western Asia from the earliest times to the end of the Seleucid era. E-Thesis Online Service (Ph.D). The British Library Board. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  5. ↑ Aruz, Joan; Fino, Elisabetta Valtz (2012). Afghanistan: Forging Civilizations Along the Silk Road. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 21. ISBN   978-1-58839-452-1.
  6. ↑ Herrmann, Georgina (1968). "Lapis Lazuli: The Early Phases of Its Trade". Iraq . 30 (1): 21–57. doi:10.2307/4199836. JSTOR   4199836. S2CID   130955760.
  7. ↑ "Dr Georgina Herrmann FBA". The British Academy. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  8. 1 2 "Treasures in the desert". Rolex Awards. 1996. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Dr Georgina Herrmann". British Academy. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  10. ↑ "Luke Herrmann". The Times. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  11. ↑ "Fellows Directory - Herrmann". Society of Antiquaries of London. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  12. ↑ "Georgina Herrmann : Profile". Rolex Awards for Enterprise. 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  13. ↑ "The 98th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America". American Journal of Archaeology. 101 (2): 331–393. 1 April 1997. doi:10.2307/506513. JSTOR   506513. S2CID   245264875.
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