Legendary archaeologist Sinclair Hood, famous for his excavations in Knossos and former director of the British School in Athens passed away on Monday, two weeks short of his 104th birthday.
The great British archaeologist and academic, Martin Sinclair Frankland Hood, had a rich research and writing work.
Sinclair Hood was born in Cobh, (then Queenstown), Ireland, in 1917 and studied prehistoric archeology at the University of London.
He came to Greece in 1947 as a student of the British School of Athens. He later served initially as assistant director (1949-1951) and director (1954-1962).
He participate in important excavations in Knossos (1957-1961) and Chios.
Sinclair Hood collaborated with important figures in archeology, such as Alan Weiss and Leonard Woolley, as well as with architects such as Michael Ventris, the man who deciphered the Linear B script.
During his stay in Greece, he bought part of the archive of Henry Schliemann, which concerned his archeological work in Turin and Mycenae in 1876.
Most of this archive includes photographs, original drawings and paintings of pottery and figurines, as well as other findings from the excavations conducted by the famous archaeologist.
His books were basic study manuals for archeology students, while his archaeological publications were exemplary.
Among them stand out: “The Home of the Heroes? The Aegean before the Greeks »,« The Minoans – Ancient Peoples and Places »,« Archaeological survey of the Knossos Area »(with David Smyth),« The Arts in Prehistoric Greece »,« Prehistoric Emporio and Ayio Gala: V. 1 : Excavations in Chios, 1938-55 “(with Juliet Clutton-Brock and Perry G. Bialor),” Knossos Excavations 1957-61: Early Minoan “(with Gerald Cadogan).
In 2000 Sinclair Hood was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Department of History-Archeology of the University of Athens.
