tour 1 of 26
Agatha Christie and archaeology
Agatha Christie and Archaeology
'Many years ago, when I was once saying
sadly to Max it was a pity I couldn't have taken up
archaeology when I was a girl, so as to be more knowledgeable on
the subject, he said, 'Don't you realize that at
this moment you know more about prehistoric pottery than any woman
in England?'
A. Christie,
An Autobiography (1981),
p. 546
The exhibition
Agatha Christie and Archaeology: Mystery
in Mesopotamia (8 November 2001- 24 March
2002) presented a fascinating look at the secret life of one of the
world's most popular
writers.
Agatha Christie
(1890-1976) originally became interested in archaeology on a visit
to the site of Ur (in modern Iraq) in 1928. It was at Ur that she
met her future husband, the archaeologist Max Mallowan, and became
involved in excavation of the sites in Iraq and Syria that were to
make his name.
Agatha was
greatly devoted to her husband and his career, accompanying him on
digs and fulfilling the role of junior assistant: cleaning and
repairing objects, matching pottery fragments and cataloguing
finds. She became very expert, and was much respected by
Max's colleagues for her painstaking and skilled work. She
also found time to write, and some of her best known books are
based on her life in the Middle East: Murder
on the Orient Express,
Death on the Nile,
Appointment with Death
and most particularly, Murder in
Mesopotamia.
This
tour looks at some of the objects from each of the sites that
Agatha worked on, and some of the photographs that she made there,
a unique record that captures the mood of the
digs.