Ernest Louis Georges Will (25 April 1913 – 24 September 1997) was a 20th-century French

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, ...

and University

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

, a member of the

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the . The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigraphy) and historical literature (see Belles-lettres). History ...

Biography

After he finished his secondary studies at the Jean Sturm Gymnasium and passed a licence de lettres at the Strasbourg University, Ernest Will joined the

École Normale Supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

in 1933 and obtained an Aggregation classique in 1936. He was a student of the French School at Athens from 1937 to 1939 and led excavations on the sites of

Thasos Thasos or Thassos (, ''Thásos'') is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area. The island has an area of 380 km2 and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate regiona ...

Delos Delos (; ; ''Dêlos'', ''Dâlos''), is a small Greek island near Mykonos, close to the centre of the Cyclades archipelago. Though only in area, it is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. ...

and

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

. When he was mobilized at the approach of World War II, he was affected in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

to the staff of General

Maxime Weygand Maxime Weygand (; 21 January 1867 – 28 January 1965) was a French military commander in World War I and World War II, as well as a high ranking member of the Vichy France, Vichy regime. Born in Belgium, Weygand was raised in France and educate ...

. After the

Armistice of 22 June 1940 The Armistice of 22 June 1940, sometimes referred to as the Second Armistice at Compiègne, was an agreement signed at 18:36 on 22 June 1940 near Compiègne, France by officials of Nazi Germany and the French Third Republic. It became effective a ...

, he returned to France where he was now a teacher at the lycée Thiers in Marseille from 1940 to 1943, an assistant to dean Charles Dugas at the Faculty of Arts of Lyon, then he taught at the Collège-lycée Ampère in Lyon (1945). On 1 October 1946, he became, with Jean Starcky, one of the first residents of the

Institut français du Proche-Orient The French Institute of the Near East (, IFPO) is a French social sciences research institute with locations in Jordan (Amman), Lebanon (Beirut) and until 2011 in Syria (Damascus and Aleppo), with additional operations in Iraq and Palestine. It w ...

in Beirut, which has founded the same year by Henri Seyrig and specialized in research on the Hellenized Middle East. On his return to France in 1951, he was an assistant in Greek language at the University of Lille (1951–1953). He defended a thèse d'État ès lettres in 1953, entitled ''Le relief cultuel gréco-romain : contribution à l'histoire de l'art de l'Empire romain'', and was recruited as a university professor in Lille (1953–1963). He was Director of Historic Antiquities of North-Picardie (1953–1968). He joined the Faculté des lettres de Paris as Greek language and literature professor (1963–1970) and then became a professor of art history and archeology at the

Institut d'Art et d'Archéologie The ''Institut d'Art et d'Archéologie'', also known as the Michelet Campus, is a building at 3 rue Michelet in Paris, built for the educational institution of the same name (French for "Institute of Art and Archaeology"). It was initially design ...

of the Pantheon-Sorbonne University (1970-1973). He returned to Beirut as Director of the Institut français d'archéologie du Proche-Orient (IFAPO) (1973-1980), and in this context, engaged into considerable activity during the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

, to protect the interests of the Institute and "give it a new impetus," including by opening branches in

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

(Jordan) and

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

(Syria) Since 2003, the IFAPO is a component of the current

(IFPO). After his mission was accomplished, he resumed his position at the Institut d'Art et d'Archéologie then took his academic retirement in 1982. For 19 years he directed the

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

'' dedicated to archaeology published by the Institut Français du Proche-Orient (1978–1997). He was appointed member of the Scientific Council of the École française d'Extrême-Orient in 1992.Arrêté du 2 juin 1992, JORF n°130, 5 June 1992 (p. 7483)

Sources

Fonds EW - Ernest Will. Archéologie du Proche-Orient hellénistique et romain
MAE René-Ginouvès, université Paris Ouest Nanterre. * Roger Agache and Jean-Claude Blanchet
« Nécrologie d'Ernest Will (1913-1997) »
'' Revue archéologique de Picardie'', n°3-4, 1997, (p. 5–7), Read online
« Bibliographie d'Ernest Will (1913–1997) »
''Syria'', volume 75, 1998, (p. 1–8), Read online * ''Mélanges offerts à Ernest Will'', Université de Lille III, Villeneuve d'Ascq, 1984, 430 p. (special issue of '' Revue du Nord'', n°260) * Georges Le Rider, ''Notice sur la vie et les travaux de Ernest Will'', Palais de l'Institut, Paris, 1999, 10 p. * Théodore Rieger, « Ernest Will », in ', vol. 40, p. 42-43 *

Maurice Sartre Maurice Sartre (born 3 October 1944) is a French historian, an Emeritus professor of ancient history at the François Rabelais University, a specialist in ancient Greek and Eastern Roman history, especially the Hellenized Middle East, from Alexan ...

, « Will Ernest (1913-1997) », '' Encyclopædia Universalis'
Read online

Works

*1949: ''La Tour funéraire de Palmyre'', Paris, Paul Geuthner. *1955: ''Le Relief cultuel gréco-romain : contribution à l'histoire de l'art de l'Empire romain'', Paris, E. de Boccard. *1992: ''Les Palmyréniens'', Paris, Armand Colin. *1995: ''De l'Euphrate au Rhin'', somme de contributions, IFAPO.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Will, Ernest 1913 births People from Bas-Rhin 1997 deaths École Normale Supérieure alumni Academic staff of the University of Lille Nord de France University of Strasbourg alumni Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Officers of the Legion of Honour Commandeurs of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Members of the French School at Athens 20th-century French archaeologists