David Randall-MacIver FBA (31 October 1873 – 30 April 1945) was a British-born

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

, who later became an American citizen. He is most famous for his excavations at Great Zimbabwe which provided the first solid evidence that the site was built by Shona peoples.

Work in Egypt at Abydos

Randall-MacIver was educated at The Queens College, Oxford. He graduated in 1896 with a first class degree''.'' He began his professional archaeological career in 1898 working for Flinders Petrie in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, uncovering the mortuary temple of Senwosret III at Abydos. In 1906 he was appointed as Curator of the Egyptian Section at the Penn Museum,

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, taking charge of the collection following Sara Yorke Stevenson's resignation in 1905.Jenifer H Wegner, ''David Randall-MacIver: Explorer of Abydos and Curator of the Egyptian Section'', Penn Museum, vol 48, no. 2, pp. 13-14 In 1901,

Nature Magazine ''Nature'' is a British weekly scientific journal founded and based in London, England. As a multidisciplinary publication, ''Nature'' features Peer review, peer-reviewed research from a variety of academic disciplines, mainly in science and t ...

were disconcerted, as the Egyptologist Randall-Maciver had suggested: "it is well worth considering whether the pre-dynastic race of Egypt is not in the main a blending in various proportions of Semite and Negro."

Work in Nubia, in Great Zimbabwe, and in Karanog

With funding from Eckley B. Coxe Jr., Randall-MacIver initiated research into the relationship between Egypt and

Nubia Nubia (, Nobiin language, Nobiin: , ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the confluence of the Blue Nile, Blue and White Nile, White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), and the Cataracts of the Nile, first cataract ...

, uncovering some of the earliest evidence of ancient Nubian culture, dating back to 3100 BCE. Between 1905 and 1906 Randall-MacIver conducted the first detailed study of Great Zimbabwe. The absence of any artefacts of non-African origin led him to conclude that the structure was built by local people. Earlier scholars had speculated that the structure had been built by Arab or

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

n traders. Between 1907 and 1910 he excavated the site of

Karanog Karanog ( Meroitic: ''Nalote'') was a Kushite town in Lower Nubia on the west bank of the Nile (near Qasr Ibrim). It was probably a provincial capital under its own (governor) in the second and third centuries AD. It was excavated between 1907 ...

, a former provincial capital of the

Kingdom of Kush The Kingdom of Kush (; Egyptian language, Egyptian: 𓎡𓄿𓈙𓈉 ''kꜣš'', Akkadian language, Assyrian: ''Kûsi'', in LXX Χους or Αἰθιοπία; ''Ecōš''; ''Kūš''), also known as the Kushite Empire, or simply Kush, was an an ...

Activities in World War I and World War II

Randall-MacIver left the Penn Museum in 1911 following a disagreement with new Museum Director George Byron Gordon, becoming librarian of the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are United States, Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows f ...

. In 1914 he left the AGS to work as a British intelligence officer in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1921 he moved to Italy to study Etruscan archaeology. He remained in Italy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, assisting the Allied forces Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program, the famous "Monuments Men", to preserve historical monuments and cultural property.

Death and memorial

Randall-MacIver died in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on 30 April 1945. He is memorialised in the Parte Antica of the Protestant Cemetery, Rome.

Books

* * *Randall-MacIver, David. ''Greek Cities in Italy and Sicily'', Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1931.

References

External links

* 1873 births 1945 deaths 19th-century British archaeologists 20th-century American archaeologists 20th-century American non-fiction writers American Egyptologists Fellows of the British Academy Alumni of the Queen's College, Oxford University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology British emigrants to the United States Great Zimbabwe British intelligence operatives British people of World War I Monuments men {{Egyptologist-stub