Due to unforeseen circumstances, the lecture by Dr Nicholas Stanley-Price which was planned to take place at CAARI on 29 February 2024 at 19:00 will take place at CVAR, same date and time.
Thursday, February 29 | 19:00
Venue: the CVAR
Dr Nicholas Stanley-Price
Rupert Gunnis and Cyprus antiquities: author, ‘policeman’, collector and fugitive
Rupert Gunnis is deservedly known for his Historic Cyprus (1936), a valuable guide to the island’s villages and churches. In 1932 he had decided to settle in the island after the departing Governor, Sir Ronald Storrs, made him Inspector of Antiquities – for his enthusiasm and good social connections rather than for any archaeological qualifications. The arrival in 1934 of the architect John Hilton as first Director of Antiquities threatened his powerful position; by spring 1936 both had lost their jobs. Drawing on government records, private correspondence and diaries, the lecture will examine the rise and fall of Rupert Gunnis in Cyprus: his ambiguous role with antiquities and the events that led to his sudden departure.
Nicholas Stanley-Price’s fieldwork in Cyprus on Early Prehistoric sites resulted in a D.Phil. degree from the University of Oxford and the publication of a gazetteer of sites. Ten years of archaeological administration and fieldwork in Cyprus and the Middle East convinced him to switch direction towards conservation, specialising in archaeological site protection. He spent five years at ICCROM, the intergovernmental organisation in Rome created by UNESCO for conservation of cultural property, before moving to the Getty Conservation Institute in California. After setting up a new M.A. (still thriving) in archaeological site management at University College London, he returned to ICCROM as Director-General. He still lives in Rome.
