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

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

archeologist Archaeology or archeology is the 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 landscapes. Archaeol ...

, born in Strasbourg, who led the

excavation Excavation may refer to: * Archaeological excavation * Excavation (medicine) * ''Excavation'' (The Haxan Cloak album), 2013 * ''Excavation'' (Ben Monder album), 2000 * ''Excavation'' (novel), a 2000 novel by James Rollins * '' Excavation: A Mem ...

team that began working on the site of

Ugarit Ugarit (; , ''ủgrt'' /ʾUgarītu/) was an ancient port city in northern Syria about 10 kilometers north of modern Latakia. At its height it ruled an area roughly equivalent to the modern Latakia Governorate. It was discovered by accident in 19 ...

, the present day

Ras Shamra Ugarit (; , ''ủgrt'' /ʾUgarītu/) was an ancient port city in northern Syria about 10 kilometers north of modern Latakia. At its height it ruled an area roughly equivalent to the modern Latakia Governorate. It was discovered by accident in 19 ...

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 ( ; ), also known as Jebeil, Jbeil or Jubayl (, Lebanese Arabic, locally ), is an ancient city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. The area is believed to have been first settled between 8800 and 7000BC and continuously inhabited ...

'',

Jean-Pierre Thiollet Jean-Pierre Thiollet (; born 9 December 1956) is a French writer and journalist. He is also affiliated with the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions, a European trade union. Career Thiollet attended a school in Châtelleraul ...

, H & D, 2005, p.256-257. After the Second World War he began excavating the Late Bronze Age site of

Enkomi Enkomi (; ) is a village near Famagusta in Cyprus. It is a short distance from a prominent 2nd millennium BC archaeological site also named Enkomi. Enkomi is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. In 1974, Enkomi had about 800 Gree ...

. 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 In geology, catastrophism is the theory that the Earth has largely been shaped by sudden, short-lived, violent events, possibly worldwide in scope. This contrasts with uniformitarianism (sometimes called gradualism), according to which slow inc ...

. He argued that on at least five occasions catastrophic events (such as earthquakes) had destroyed

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

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 French archaeologists Corresponding fellows of the British Academy {{archaeologist-stub