Elizabeth French facts for kids

Elizabeth Bayard French (born Wace; 19 January 1931 – 10 June 2021), also known as Lisa French, was a British archaeologist. An archaeologist is someone who studies human history by digging up old things. Elizabeth French was an expert in Mycenaean Greece. This was an ancient civilization that lived in Greece a very long time ago.

She was especially good at studying old pottery and small clay statues called terracotta figurines. She also worked a lot at the ancient site of Mycenae. During her career, she helped lead a student hall at the University of Manchester. She also became the director of the British School at Athens, which is a place for studying ancient Greece.

Early Life and Learning

Elizabeth French was born in 1931 in London, England. Her parents, Alan and Helen Wace, were also archaeologists. When she was 3, her family moved to Cambridge.

She first joined her father's digs at Mycenae in 1939. She was only 8 years old! After this, her family lived in Athens, Greece. She went to a British school there. When World War II started, Elizabeth and her mother moved to America. Four years later, they joined her father in Egypt. He was teaching at a university there. In 1946, her family returned to the UK. Elizabeth finished her school studies there.

Elizabeth went to Newnham College, Cambridge from 1949 to 1952. She studied Classics, which is the study of ancient Greek and Roman culture. Every summer, she went back to Mycenae to help with the excavations.

After college, she learned about how to preserve old objects at the UCL Institute of Archaeology. She then taught Classics at a school for girls. While teaching, she started working on her PhD degree. A PhD is a very high university degree. Her research was about how Mycenaean terracotta figurines developed over time.

During this period, she also spent time in Greece. She studied ancient Mycenaean objects for her research. She also helped dig at other important sites like Ayios Stephanos and Knossos. She earned her PhD in 1961.

Her Work as an Archaeologist

Elizabeth French became a top expert in Mycenaean pottery. She was also a long-time excavator at the site of Mycenae. For her PhD, she created a detailed way to group and understand Mycenaean terracotta figurines. These small clay statues were made between about 1500 and 1100 BC.

She even created a special word, kourotrophos. This word describes a certain type of figurine that shows a woman holding a child.

Elizabeth French dug at Mycenae for many years. She worked with her father from 1950 to 1957. After he passed away, she continued digging with other archaeologists until 1969. She also created a clear system for classifying Mycenaean pottery. This system helped archaeologists figure out how old other ancient finds were.

In the 1960s, she lived in Turkey with her husband, David French. He was also an archaeologist. She joined digs in Greece and Turkey. She also worked on materials found at Greek sites like Tiryns.

From 1976 to 1989, Elizabeth French was the Warden of Ashburne Hall. This was a living hall for students at the University of Manchester. She also taught archaeology there. In 1989, she became the first woman to be the Director of the British School at Athens. She held this important job until 1994.

Important Discoveries and Awards

Elizabeth French wrote important books and articles about Mycenae. One of her key works describes the ancient buildings and history of the entire Mycenae site. She also worked with another archaeologist, Spiros Iakovidis. Together, they published a survey of the areas around Mycenae.

She also wrote an article with P. S. Stockhammer. It was the first time anyone tried to connect discoveries from Mycenae and Tiryns. These are two very important Mycenaean sites.

In 1979, Elizabeth French became a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. This is a special group for people who study ancient things. In 2004, she received an honorary doctorate from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece. This is a special award from a university.

In 2013, she gave her collection of papers to the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge. These papers included records from the British excavations at Mycenae from 1920 to 1969. They also included her own professional notes and research.

Personal Life

Elizabeth French was married to archaeologist David French. They were married from 1959 to 1975. They met in 1956 while studying ancient materials from Mycenae. They had two daughters, Ann and Catherine. Elizabeth French passed away in Cambridge on 10 June 2021. She was 90 years old.

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