Chris Preece in Libya

Devon Archaeologists in Libya - Chris Preece When I was asked to write a short piece on a site I’ve been working on in Libya, it left me in a quandary. Where was the ‘hook’ which would prevent readers from murmuring “How interesting”, looking briefly at the photographs and then turning to the next (more local) article? Then it occurred to me: I would highlight the achievements of the accomplished Devon archaeologist, Richard Goodchild (Fig.1). Subsequently, by clinging leech-like to his coat-tails, I could benefit from some reflected glory. (Astute readers will soon realise that apart from sharing the same hometown and both living a number of years in Libya, the parallels thereafter are fairly tenuous. Goodchild’s volume of work was prodigious; mine... well, fairly miniscule.)
Fig.1:Richard Goodchild	Whilst a number of renowned archaeologists are known for their association with Devon (Max Mallowan, Aileen Fox etc.), it is perhaps surprising that one who actually grew up here has received so little recognition within the county. Richard Goodchild was born in Exeter in 1918 and a year before his untimely death in 1968, was appointed to the prestigious post of Professor of the Archaeology of the Roman Provinces at the Institute of Archaeology, London. This appointment was just reward for his pioneering work in Libya. An early interest in archaeology had been fostered by Exeter’s Roman remains and he began digging as a schoolboy, continuing as an undergraduate at Oxford.
After service in the Royal Artillery in the Second World War he was well placed to become the Antiquities Officer for Libya, under the British post-war administration. Although this involved care of the better known sites such as Leptis Magna and Cyrene, it was his energetic work mapping the Roman road system and lesser known inland sites which marked this period of his work. In 1948 he joined the British School at Rome but his interest in Libya continued, culminating in his appointment in 1953 as Controller of Antiquities in Cyrenaica, the eastern province of Libya, a post he held for eleven years.
During this time he was responsible for excavation at four of the five cities of the Pentapolis: Cyrene, Tocra, Apollonia and Ptolemais. At the same time he understood the importance of lesser status sites and conducted survey inland as well as monitoring any threats from development. He is sometimes rather unfairly criticised (given his early death and a remit which involved responsibility for a huge area) for omissions in publication or pottery analysis. The Society for Libyan Studies published a 350 page volume of select papers by him which highlights his achievements in Libya. The four pages of his bibliography show how prolific, in fact, his publication record was. My association with Libya is altogether more mundane. In 1995, I took a post as a teacher for an oil company school in Marsa-el-Brega.
As I socialised within the expat community, I began to notice a number of amphora fragments on the mantelpieces of houses there. The beach nearby was in fact the western side of a headland anchorage and underwater survey revealed at least two wrecks (C1 AD and Byzantine) which, with the permission of the Department of Antiquities, I spent week-ends surveying and later writing up.
Fig.3:Pottery Reconstruction		Fig.2: Planning a grave cut, Boreum
The Director of the Department, Ibrahim Tuwahni, also encouraged me to look at Boreum, a walled Byzantine site published, coincidentally, by Goodchild in 1951. As it was located inside the oil company compound it was subject to tight security, making it difficult for even the Department’s head to access! Here though was an ideal opportunity for me to enthuse my students with a ‘hands on’ approach to History. We made field trips where we identified some new extramural structures, recorded other features using photography and scale drawing (Fig. 2) and sampled some pottery sherds. The latter were reconstructed by the children in the classroom (Fig. 3) and were the first published ceramic evidence from the site. Fast forward to 2009 and escaping the recession, I find myself teaching in Libya again, this time in Tripoli. As the weather hots up I find the nearest beach and detect what looks like another headland anchorage (these gave the option of shelter either side of the headland depending on the wind direction).
Fig.4: Author examining amphora stopper	Fig.5: Author examining a Kiln
I snorkel offshore and soon spot amphora fragments. I liaise with the Department of Antiquities and they agree to a scoping survey (to determine the extent and date of the material). Week-ends are spent with site familiarisation and finally sampling a limited number of ceramics for identification (Fig. 4). The beach and a large area to landward encompassing the anchorage are due to be developed as part of a large tourist complex. During my weekly walk to the beach, I monitor the groundwork (old habits die hard after 7 years of commercial archaeology!). One day, some interesting circular structures are revealed quite close to the eastern anchorage. I suspect they are kilns and with the wonders of e-mail attachment, I’m able to get expert confirmation. Surface finds suggest these were producing ceramics in the first century AD. Six kilns in total are located, as well as a rectangular building. Although Tripolitanian amphorae were shipped all over the Roman Empire, few kiln sites have been located. Goodchild himself recorded one at Ain Scersciara inland from Tripoli. They are particularly important as they source fabric and forms. The Department of Antiquities has since requested that the developers preserve them and at the time of going to press they had been The results of the scoping survey are still being analysed but suggest (unsurprisingly) C1AD material (or earlier), much of it neo-Punic. There are also a number of Byzantine vessels including amphorae and cooking pots. It is hoped that the site will be published in 2011.
Fig.6: Ain Scersciara Kiln	Figs. 1and 6 are reproduced from ‘Libyan Studies, Select Papers of the late R.G. Goodchild’ (ed. Joyce Reynolds) 1976. Figs. 4 & 5: Photos by James Fyfe.