Ballot Archive

25 Jul 2024

Candidate Details

Candidate Name

Donald Easton

Academic degrees, honours etc.

MA (Oxon, Lond) PhD Schliemann Medal, Akad d. Wiss Berlin Corresponding Member, Archaeological Institute of America

Profession or occupation

Near Eastern Archaeologist, Retired Sales Executive, Non-Stipendiary Anglican Priest

Grounds for election

Donald is an independent scholar specialising in the archaeology, history and languages of pre-classical Anatolia. He is an authority on Heinrich Schliemann's excavations at the famous site of Troy in Turkey, and is renowned for his detailed research and publications into the controversies surrounding the discovery of the Troy treasures in 1873, which burst on to the world stage owing to the excavator’s relating them to the ‘jewels of Helen’ from Homer’s epic. Ending up in the Berlin Museums they were removed by the Red Army in 1945, after which they remained hidden from the world until 1994, when Donald was invited to Moscow to authenticate them. He has been a been a member of the Troy excavation team since 1991, and has published much about the site. His recent works have focussed on unravelling the complex stratigraphy using statistical analysis of pottery assemblages and radiocarbon dating of faunal remains. He is currently writing up Troy periods II and III for final publication.

Signatories

The following Fellows have signed this Blue Paper