1952–April 1953

G. H. McFadden

THE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

CURIUM EXCAVATIONS EPISKOPI, LIMASSOL CYPRUS

18th April, 1953The Director, The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa., U. S. A.

Dear Fro:-

Thanks very much for your letter of April 11th. It was considerate of you to clear with us before committing the museum and I appreciated it. That was certainly an unexpected windfall and if the new grant as you say would be for work here toward the publication of Curium it would certainly be most useful. In that case, speaking as co-sponsor of the expedition, I would be the real beneficiary - unless, of course, you were planning to make a further contribution to Curium funds before you received the offer. It is my own opinion, however, that after careful consideration, that it is neither to Deke's interest or to yours that the offer should be accepted. Give Deke two more years and I doubt very much whether results will prove any more satisfactory than they have been to date. We now have as you know a candidate who is capable of publishing the buildings on the bluff. We are very fortunate in being able to obtain a man of his ability on such favourable terms. He is asking only for travel and living expenses. With regard to the Bamboula pottery we have another candidate in mind. He is Allen Wace, Professor Emeritus of Archaeology at Cambridge, who is now at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. He is returning here I believe this summer. He has been planning to retire in Cyprus - or at least to spend a good deal of his time here. He and his American wife have an apartment at Nicosia. He is half American himself and is related to the Bayards of Princeton. He is an authority on Mycenaean pottery and so is particularly well qualified for Bamboula. Rodney thinks well of the idea and I thought I might find out indirectly on his return whether such an invitation might appeal to him. All other things put aside, Deke is not well and it is going to take an extended period of re-orientation before he is. I am sorry for him but I really think it is to his own best interest that we leave things as they now stand.

Handwritten: Cz ever, George