Claude Frédéric-Armand Schaeffer (March 6, 1898 – August 25, 1982) was a French

archeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

, born in Strasbourg, who led the French excavation team that began working on the site of

Ugarit ) , image =Ugarit Corbel.jpg , image_size=300 , alt = , caption = Entrance to the Royal Palace of Ugarit , map_type = Near East#Syria , map_alt = , map_size = 300 , relief=yes , location = Latakia Governorate, Syria , region = ...

, the present day

Ras Shamra ) , image =Ugarit Corbel.jpg , image_size=300 , alt = , caption = Entrance to the Royal Palace of Ugarit , map_type = Near East#Syria , map_alt = , map_size = 300 , relief=yes , location = Latakia Governorate, Syria , region = ...

in 1929, leading to the uncovering of the Ugaritic religious texts.http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/612669/Ugarit ; "Claude Schaeffer", in ''Je m'appelle

Byblos Byblos ( ; gr, Βύβλος), also known as Jbeil or Jubayl ( ar, جُبَيْل, Jubayl, locally ; phn, 𐤂𐤁𐤋, , probably ), is a city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is believed to have been first occupied between 8 ...

'',

Jean-Pierre Thiollet Jean-Pierre Thiollet (; born 9 December 1956) is a French writer and journalist. Primarily living in Paris, he is the author of numerous books and one of the national leaders of the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CEDI), a ...

, H & D, 2005, p.256-257. After the Second World War he began excavating the Late Bronze Age site of Enkomi. He was curator for the Prehistoric and Gallo-Roman Museum, Strasbourg (1924–1933) and for the Museum of National Antiquities, Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1933–1956). Schaeffer was an advocate of catastrophism. He argued that on at least five occasions catastrophic events (such as earthquakes) had destroyed

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

civilizations.Palmer, Trevor. (2003). ''Perilous Planet Earth: Catastrophes and Catastrophism Through the Ages''. Cambridge University Press. pp. 120-121.

Selected publications

*''The Cuneiform Texts of Ras Shamra-Ugarit'' (1939)
''Stratigraphie Comparee Et Chronologie De L Asie Occidentale''
(1948)
Note Sur L'enceinte Mycénienne D'enkomi (Chypre)
(1948)

References

External links

Claude Schaeffer – Ancient Middle East Destruction and epic discoveries
1898 births 1982 deaths Catastrophism Archaeologists from Strasbourg 20th-century archaeologists Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy {{archaeologist-stub