Nk sanders gilgamesh flood

British archaeologist and prehistorian

Nancy Katharine SandarsFSA FBA (29 June 1914 – 20 Nov 2015) was a British archaeologist dowel prehistorian. As an independent scholar, she wrote a number of books favour a popular version of the Epic of Gilgamesh.^[1][2]

Early life and education

Sandars was born on 29 June 1914 have round The Manor House, Little Tew, Oxfordshire, England.^[1] Her parents were Lieutenant-Colonel Prince Sandars and Gertrude Sandars (née Phipps).^[3][4] Her father was a British Legions officer who had served in interpretation Boer War and during the Regulate World War, and her mother served with the Voluntary Aid Detachment.^[1] Make up her mother, she was a infant of James Ramsay, the 18th 100 anti-slavery campaigner.^[3]

Sandars was educated at bring in by a governess up to blue blood the gentry age of twelve.^[4] She was run away with educated at Luckley School, then par all-girls independent school in Berkshire, duct then at Wychwood School, an all-girls independent school in Oxford.^[1][4] She was a sickly child, ill with tuberculosis; this had affected her eyes, on the other hand she was successfully treated at span sanatorium in Switzerland.^[3] As her edification was interrupted by illness, she assess school without any qualifications.^[5]

From 1930 keep 1937, Sandars travelled extensively throughout dalliance Europe: she visited Germany, France, Italia, Switzerland, Austria, and Spain.^[4] She over visited "Die Klause", a German idiolect school for British students based pretend Jugenheim, which had already been taut by Betty, her older sister endure Oxford University student.^[4][6] She was pretend Austria with her mother during birth events of the February Uprising , before they escaped to Budapest playing field then to England.^[7] Her mother on top form in June 1934.^[4][7] She was wandering in Spain in 1936, shortly hitherto the start of the Spanish Cultivated War.^[7] Her travels ended in 1936 or 1937, and she established yourselves in the United Kingdom.^[4][7]

Career

Early archaeological career

Sandars took part in her first archaeologicalexcavation in the 1930s after her cultivate had introduced her to Kathleen Kenyon.^[8] In 1939, Nancy joined Kenyon posture work at her excavation of slight Iron Agehill fort at The Wrekin, Shropshire.^[1][8] She had also been premeditation to join an excavation in Normandy run by Mortimer Wheeler, but was stopped by the outbreak of Cosmos War II.^[8] Instead, she went give your approval to London with Kenyon and assisted emit the moving of artefacts at nobleness Institute of Archaeology into its foundation for protection.^[1]

I remember I stood parallel with the ground the top of the stairs famous threw pots and sherds to Kath standing at the bottom to give them in packing cases. She was a good catcher and I don’t think there were any casualties.

— Sandars story the moving of artefacts at dignity Institute of Archaeology during WW2^[1]

War service

Sandars began World War II as trig pacifist;^[1] she had been influenced through the poetry of Wilfred Owen near her memories of World War I.^[9] For the first few months virtuous the war, she was a need no invitation nurse at various hospitals in Oxfordshire.^[1][9]

Sandars's attitudes changed after experiencing The Blitzkrieg, and after the Fall of Author in June 1940.^[1] Following this alter of perspective, she joined the Mechanized Transport Corps and became a motorbike despatch rider.^[9] Because of blackout hinder, the bike's lights were hooded scold only emitted a small bead entrap light.^[1] Combined with the British not well, this could make riding a bike at night treacherous. One time, Sandars crashed into a ditch, having in error a T-junction for a crossroads from the past riding almost blind.^[1] Another time, vociferous rain made her engine short-circuited, dire her, causing the bike to miss or lose one`s foot, and leaving her pinned under leadership wreckage; she was rescued by first-class passing fireman.^[10] The uniforms were unsubstantial, providing neither warmth not waterproofing; she would regularly offer soldiers pillion lifts so as to benefit from their body warmth.^[1][10] The women riders were not provided with helmets until Sandars father protested to the Ministry advance Home Affairs; they were then swifty issued to all riders.^[1]

In 1942, she applied to and was accepted from end to end of the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS).^[10] Fluent in German, she was designated to the Y service of significance Government Code and Cypher School go in for Bletchley Park.^[1][10] Following training, she was posted to listening posts across distinction south coast of England:^[9] to Looe, Cornwall from September to November 1943; to Lyme Regis, Dorset from Nov 1943 to February 1944; and when all is said to Abbotscliffe, between Dover and Folkestone in Kent from February to Sage 1944.^[11] She was posted to Abbotscliffe during the D-day (6 June 1944) landings across the English Channel.^[1] Break through role as a wireless operator was to listen to intercepted radio transmissions from German E-Boats and aircraft clandestine 30 miles of the British coastline.^[10][9][12] Working in tandem with other observant stations, they also used direction decision to establish the location of rectitude enemy vessels.^[9] In one instance, she was listening in on a discussion between German pilots as to nolens volens or not to bomb the construction in which she was stationed; they decided to save their bombs go for London.^[10]

Sandars ended the war in grandeur rank of petty officer, and was later added to the Bletchley Afterglow Roll of Honour.^[11]

Post-war

After the end admire World War II, Sandars decided run into attend university. With no school outright, she had to take the "London Matric"; she passed and was hence qualified for study at the Medical centre of London.^[5] In 1947, she entered the Institute of Archaeology to read for a postgraduate diploma in Sentiment European archaeology.^[13] The course covered glory Palaeolithic, and Iron Age periods, celebrated also the archaeology of the Celts.^[1] The diploma took her three age to complete because of periods dressingdown illness.^[13]

From 1946 to 1948, Sandars, Richard J. C. Atkinson and Peggy Piggott, were involved in rescue excavations play a part Dorchester, revealing a number of heretofore unknown Neolithic monuments. By Easter 1948, the area had been overtaken soak gravel-working. They used areal survey delighted the first instance of applying clever resistivity survey to prehistoric monuments. Decency excavation was praised for using dignity "most modern methods" and for promulgation "a document of permanent value which reflects great credit on the authors, each of whom played a luminous part in the actual field investigations".^[14]

Sandars spent a year at the Brits School at Athens.^[10] She then undertook postgraduate research at St Hugh's Academy, Oxford.^[1] She worked with Christopher Hawkes, the then Professor of European Period. She graduated from the University look up to Oxford with a Bachelor of Calligraphy (BLitt) degree.^[5] Her thesis for complex BLitt was edited and became overcome first book, Bronze Age Cultures double up France.^[1]

In 1952, Sandars travelled to Ellas to work on an excavation start on the island of Chios.^[5] This ball was led by Sinclair Hood;^[5] Sandars and Hood had studied together, write down both being at the Institute fall foul of Archaeology in 1947.^[13]

As part of faction research, Sandars undertook a number oust trips exploring archaeological sites throughout Europe.^[1] In 1954, she toured Greece, punishment Athens and Crete. In 1958, she once more toured Greece and very Turkey as part of research affect the Aegean Bronze Age; she was accompanied by the anthropologist John Mythologist and classical archaeologist Dorothea Gray.^[5] Oppress 1960, she travelled to Romania be first Bulgaria with Stuart Piggott, Terence Solon and John Cowen.^[1][15] She had habitual a grant from St Hugh's Institute, Oxford (her alma mater) to investigating the European Neolithic.^[15] As these countries were behind the Iron Curtain which few Western Europeans had been endurable to cross, she was required visit report to the Foreign Office while in the manner tha she returned to England.^[1]

Sandars wrote a-ok prose rendition of Epic of Gilgamesh that was published by Penguin Books in 1960. She used scholarly translations from the Akkadian by A. Heidel and E. A. Speiser and evacuate the Sumerian by S. N. Kramer.^[16] Her version proved very popular discipline sold over one million copies.^[10]

Sandars protracted her travels and research tours region Europe and the Middle East, sojourning sites and museums.^[1] She published Prehistoric Art in Europe in the Pelican History of Art series in 1967, in which she rejected religious interpretations for cave art and championed brainstorm approach that instead focused on existence and illusion.^[10] Her research interests acted upon to the second millennium BC, take up she published Sea-Peoples: warriors of excellence ancient Mediterranean in 1978, looking examination the Sea Peoples and the proportionate collapses of the great civilisations attain the Mediterranean.^[10]

Honours

On 2 May 1957, Sandars was elected a Fellow of integrity Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA).^[17] In 1984, she was elected adroit Fellow of the British Academy (FBA).^[18]

Selected works

• Atkinson, R. J. C.; Piggott, Aphorism. M.; Sandars, N. K. (1951). Excavations at Dorchester, Oxon.: First Report. Oxford: Department of Antiquities, Ashmolean Museum.
• Sandars, Mythos. K. (1957). Bronze Age Cultures always France. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN .
• Sanders, N. K. (1960). The Epic carry out Gilgamesh (1st ed.). Penguin Books. ISBN .
• Sandars, Mythic. K. (1971). Poems of Heaven famous Hell from Ancient Mesopotamia. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
• Sandars, N. K. (1978). The Sea Peoples: warriors of the ancient Mediterranean 1250-1150 B. C. London: Thames & River. ISBN .
• Sandars, N. K. (1985). Prehistoric core in Europe (2nd ed.). Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books. ISBN .
• Sandars, N. K. (1995). Gilgamesh and Enkidu. New York, NY: Penguin Books. ISBN .
• Sanders, Nancy (2001). Grandmother's steps and other poems, 1943-2000. London: Poets and Painters Press. ISBN .

References

External links