Creating the first Europeans: Tracing the development of Sir Arthur Evans's vision of Minoan civilisation through documents and object

亚瑟·埃文斯爵士在青铜器时代的考古学上留下了不可磨灭的印记，尤其是在克里特岛的克诺索斯。从1900年到1930年，他挖掘并修复了克诺索斯宫殿的庞大建筑群，并在1921年至1935年期间将他的发现发表在一系列五部米诺斯宫殿卷中。在他的出版物中，埃文斯利用收集到的证据来展示他对米诺斯文明的看法，认为米诺斯文明是一个原始的欧洲皇家社会。埃文斯同父异母的妹妹琼·埃文斯（1974年）和安·布朗（1983年）、西尔维娅·霍维茨（1981年）、纳诺·马里纳托斯（2015年）、伊尔斯·肖普（2018年）等学者对埃文斯的现代描述都承认，埃文斯的考古决定和解释不仅受到他对物质文化的仔细观察的影响，而且受到他自己的上层阶级英国世界观的影响。例如，在其他发现中，王座室的发现使埃文斯设想这个建筑群是一个宫殿避难所，有皇家居民和一个与20世纪君主相媲美的牧师国王（埃文斯1902/1903,67）。以前的研究主要集中在埃文斯理论的总体发展上，但很少有研究通过档案记录和米诺斯宫出版物，以时间顺序全面分析埃文斯理论的详细演变。我在布里斯托尔大学和阿什莫尔博物馆之间的合作博士伙伴关系（CDP）内的研究将使用埃文斯档案和阿什莫尔收藏来研究埃文斯愿景中应用的理论、对象和考古背景，以了解他的理论如何从最初的挖掘演变到最后的出版物和展览。通过将埃文斯愿景的进展置于背景中，我们作为一个学术团体，可以将他的理论追溯到最初的考古证据，并用现代研究来验证、驳斥、修正或扩展他的解释。这个项目的结果将不同于其他研究，因为它将使用档案馆和埃文斯的物品收藏来为调查提供信息。为此，我将分析档案馆的信件、笔记本、出版物、报纸和展览记录以及物品收藏，以按时间顺序追溯埃文斯的理论是如何随着不同部分的挖掘、新物品的发现以及他的现场主管邓肯·麦肯齐（duncan Mackenzie）的输入而变化的。我对比较埃文斯和麦肯齐的笔记本（AE NB）和日记本特别感兴趣，因为埃文斯在写他的年度报告（1900-1906）和米诺斯宫出版物（Momigliano 1999）时经常使用麦肯齐的日记本（DM DB）。我还将讨论埃文斯的挖掘方法（即记录策略、人工制品管理、修复、下注系统）如何优先考虑某些类型的证据，以及他的选择如何塑造了围绕克诺索斯在阿什莫尔和现场的叙述。我的研究问题包括：埃文斯的想法是如何在每次挖掘季节之间，以及在他最初的挖掘和最终的发表之间发生变化和相互建立的？他的阿什莫尔藏品是如何体现他的理论的？他又是如何用这些理论来传达他的观点的？埃文斯的理论和挖掘方法对现代学术有何影响？

Sir Arthur Evans left an indelible mark on the archaeology of the Bronze Age, particularly atKnossos on Crete. From 1900-1930, he excavated and restored the massive architectural complexof the Palace of Knossos, publishing his findings in a series of five Palace of Minos volumesbetween 1921 and 1935. In his publications, Evans used the evidence gathered to present his visionof the Minoan civilisation as a proto-European, royal society. Modern accounts of Evans by hishalf-sister Joan Evans (1974) and scholars such as Ann Brown (1983), Sylvia Horwitz (1981),Nanno Marinatos (2015), and Ilse Schoep (2018) have acknowledged that Evans's archaeologicaldecisions and interpretations were informed and influenced not only by his careful observation ofthe material culture but also by his own upper class, British worldview. For example, the discoveryof the Throne Room, among other finds, led Evans to envision the complex as a palace-sanctuarywith royal residents and a priest-king comparable to monarchs of the 20th century (Evans1902/1903, 67). Previous research has focused on the overarching development of Evans's visionthrough major finds, but little work has been done to fully analyse the detailed evolution of Evans'stheories in chronological order through the archive records and the Palace of Minos publications.My research within the Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) between the University ofBristol and the Ashmolean Museum will use the Evans Archive and Ashmolean collections tostudy the theories, objects, and archaeological contexts applied in Evans's vision to understandhow his theories evolved from his initial excavation to his final publications and exhibitions. Bycontextualising the progression of Evans's vision, we, as a scholarly community, can trace histheories back to the original archaeological evidence and validate, dismiss, amend, or expand hisinterpretations with modern studies. The outcome of this project will be unlike other studiesbecause it will use both the Archive and Evans's object collection to inform the investigation. Todo so, I will analyse the letters, notebooks, publications, newspapers, and exhibition records of theArchive and the object collections to chronologically trace how Evans's theories changed with theexcavation of different sections, the discovery of new objects, and input from his site-supervisorDuncan Mackenzie. I am particularly interested in comparing Evans's and Mackenzie's notebooks(AE NB) and daybooks because Evans often used Mackenzie's Daybooks (DM DB) when writinghis yearly reports (1900-1906) and Palace of Minos publications (Momigliano 1999). I will alsoaddress how Evans's excavation methods (i.e., recording strategies, artefact curation, restorations,wager-system) prioritised certain types of evidence and how his selections shaped the narrativesurrounding Knossos both at the Ashmolean and at the site. My research questions include: Howdid Evans's ideas change and build off each other between each excavation season and betweenhis initial excavations and final publications? How did his Ashmolean collection represent histheories and how did he use them to convey his vision? How do Evans's theories and excavationmethods impact modern scholarship?