Mavi Boncuk |
(b. Columbia, South Carolina, December 9, 1932, | d. Bryan, Texas March 2, 2021)
It is with great sadness that we share the news of George Bass’ passing, and offer our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues. George passed away on March 2, 2021, in College Station, Texas.
George F. Bass was well known to many as a pioneer in the field of nautical archaeology. Fascinated with archaeology as an undergraduate, George’s M.A. in Near Eastern Archaeology was a precursor to his later work in nautical archaeology, which led to his PhD. Following a two-year term at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, where he excavated at Gordion, and two years of military service in South Korea, George’s life changed with the discovery of what was at the time the world’s oldest shipwreck, a Bronze Age wreck from, c. 1200 BC.
With support from the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Bass was selected by the museum’s director, Rodney Young, to represent the museum and co-direct the excavation of the wreck, which lay off the coast of Turkey. Before departing, George took classes on diving at the local YMCA, but arrived with no practical underwater experience. The collaboration of George, Joan du Plat Taylor, Honor Frost, Peter Throckmorton; with skilled divers Frederic Dumas and Claude Duthuit resulted in the Gelidonya site excavation being the first to completely archaeologically excavate an ancient shipwreck from the sea floor.
After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, George embarked on a long career in nautical archaeology. He was the founding President of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, the founder of the Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A&M University, where he held the George T. and Gladys H. Abell Chair in Nautical Archaeology, and a prolific author. Among his many awards were the AIA Gold Medal for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement, the National Medal of Science, the J.D. Harrington Award from the Society for Historical Archaeology, the Lucy Wharton Drexel Metal for Achievement in Archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania, the LaGorce Gold Medal from the National Geographic Society, as well as the Society’s Centennial Award, the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement, the Lowell Thomas Award from the Explorers Club, and honorary doctorates from Bogazici University in Istanbul and the University of Liverpool.
George’s prolific output included a wide range of publications, both academic and also books aimed at an informed, popular audience. Many of the academic titles, focusing on the projects of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, are recognized as setting a high standard for nautical archaeological scholarship. George’s commitment to scholarly excellence is also powerfully reflected in another aspect of his legacy, his students. Many of the world’s leading nautical and maritime archaeologists were Dr. Bass’s graduate students. A powerful and effective advocate for archaeology, and for the protection and preservation of underwater cultural heritage, George Bass will be missed.
The field of archaeology, and especially the archaeological study of humanity’s seafaring, maritime culture, and the evolving technical and technological ability to now conduct archaeological research at the world’s deepest depths owes a debt of gratitude to George F. Bass.
The Institute of Nautical Archaeology has established a tribute page in honor of George
George was many things: an archaeologist, a professor, an Army veteran, an author, a chronicler of family history, a husband, a father and grandfather. He was a lover of opera, a writer of opinionated letters, a teller of stories always told with a twinkle in his eye.
George was born on December 9, 1932, in Columbia, South Carolina, to Robert Duncan Bass and Virginia Wauchope Bass. His uncle was the archaeologist Robert Wauchope. He grew up primarily in Annapolis, Maryland. In 1955 he received an M.A. in Near Eastern Archaeology from Johns Hopkins University, after which he spent two years at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece. He served two years in the U.S. Army in Korea with the 25th Infantry Division, which was attached to the Turkish Brigade and was honorably discharged as a First Lieutenant in 1959.
In 1960 he married Ann Singletary in Greenville, South Carolina. In 1964 he received a Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania.
In 1960, shortly before the Cape Gelidonya expedition, he married Ann Bass (née Singletary), a pianist and piano teacher, who assisted him with his work
George believed that it would be possible to excavate on the seabed to the same exacting scientific standards as on land. While a graduate student, he learned to scuba dive, and in 1960 he directed a team that excavated the remains of a Bronze Age shipwreck off Cape Gelidonya, on the southern coast of Turkey. It was the first ancient shipwreck to be excavated in its entirety on the seabed. This pioneering effort led to the establishment of underwater archaeology as an academic discipline and was the beginning of a 50-year career of fieldwork, teaching, publishing, and lecturing around the world.
In 1973, after teaching at Penn for eight years, he founded the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, which is devoted to bringing history to light through the scientific study of shipwrecks. The Institute became affiliated with Texas A&M in 1976, and in the same year the Nautical Archaeology Program was established at the university. George taught at Texas A&M from 1976 until his retirement in 2000, and INA continues to support projects around the world.
George supported passage of the Abandoned Shipwrecks Act of 1987, which protects historic shipwrecks from treasure hunters and salvagers. He believed that archaeological sites under water should be given the same protection as sites on land. In his testimony before Congress, he pointed out that "you can't tear apart the Alamo and sell the pieces for souvenirs."
Most of George's field work was in Turkey, a country he came to love. He treasured his friends and colleagues there, and eventually built a home in Bodrum near INA headquarters. He and Ann spent long periods there, especially after his retirement.
George was a man with endless energy. He published prodigiously; he wrote or edited seven books and his work was often featured in National Geographic Magazine and in media around the world. He was equally proud of being called "an underwater Indiana Jones" by TIME magazine and of being awarded the National Medal of Science by George W. Bush in 2001. Although he spent most of his career diving on and studying ancient shipwrecks, he was equally thrilled to visit the wreck of the Titanic on a research expedition in 2003.
Among his many honors were the National Medal of Science, the National Geographic Centennial Award, the Gold Medal for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement from the Archaeological Institute of America, and membership in the American Philosophical Society.
George was a generous scholar, providing his students with opportunities for field work and publishing. He inspired many to follow in his footsteps and was proud of their successes. He adored his sons and grandsons.
He is survived by his wife Ann; his son Gordon, wife Jennifer and children Henry and Charles; and son Alan.
Books
- Beneath the Seven Seas : Adventures with the Institute of Nautical Archaeology by George Fletcher Bass (London : Thames & Hudson, 2005) ISBN 0-500-05136-4, OCLC 60667939
- Archaeology Under Water by George Fletcher Bass (New York, Praeger, 1966), OCLC 387479
- Archaeology Beneath the Sea by George Fletcher Bass (New York : Walker, 1975) ISBN 0-8027-0477-8, OCLC 1414901
- Ancient ships in Bodrum by George Fletcher Bass (Istanbul: Boyut, 2012) ISBN 9789752310315, OCLC 880980693
- A History of Seafaring Based on Underwater Archaeology by George Fletcher Bass (New York, Walker, 1972) ISBN 0802703909, OCLC 508334
- Ships and Shipwrecks of the Americas: a history based on underwater archaeology by George Fletcher Bass (New York, N.Y. : Thames and Hudson, 1988) ISBN 0-500-05049-X, OCLC 18759167
- Cape Gelidonya: a Bronze Age Shipwreck by George Fletcher Bass (Philadelphia, American Philosophical Society, 1967), OCLC 953382
- Navi e Civiltà : Archeologia Marina by George Fletcher Bass (Milano : Fratelli Fabri, 1974), OCLC 8201972
- Yassi Ada by George Fletcher Bass and Frederick H Van Doorninck (College Station : Published with the cooperation of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology by Texas A&M University Press, ©1982) ISBN 0-89096-063-1, OCLC 7925092
- Geschiedenis van de scheepvaart weerspiegeld in de scheepsarcheologie by George Fletcher Bass (Bussum : Unieboek, 1973) ISBN 90-228-1908-6, OCLC 64115385
- Serce Limani, vol. 1: the ship and its anchorage, crew, and passengers by George Fletcher Bass and others (College Station: Published with the cooperation of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology by Texas A&M University Press, 2004) ISBN 0-89096-947-7, OCLC 56457232
- Beneath the wine dark sea : nautical archaeology and the Phoenicians of the Odyssey by George F Bass, OCLC 41174856
- A diversified program for the study of shallow water searching and mapping techniques by George F Bass; Donald M Rosencrantz; United States Dept. of Navy, Office of Naval Research; University of Pennsylvania, University Museum (Philadelphia, Pa.: The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 1968), OCLC 61423407
- Glass treasure from the Aegean by George Fletcher Bass (Washington: National Geographic Society, 1978), OCLC 13594255
- Shipwrecks in the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology by George Fletcher Bass and Bodrum Sualtı Arkeoloji Müzesi (Bodrum : Museum of Underwater Archaeology, 1996) ISBN 975-17-1605-5, OCLC 35759537
- New tools for undersea archeology by George Fletcher Bass (v. 134, no. 3 (Sept. 1968) (Washington, D.C. : National Geographic Society, ©1968), OCLC 57758351
- Archäologie unter Wasser by George Fletcher Bass (Bergisch Gladbach: Lübbe, 1966), OCLC 73584270
- Marine archaeology: a misunderstood science by George Fletcher Bass (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, ©1980), OCLC 13598481
- Tesori in fondo al mare by George Fletcher Bass (Milano: Sonzogno, 1981), OCLC 46996362
[*] Honor Frost (28 October 1917 – 12 September 2010) was a pioneer in the field of underwater archaeology, who led many Mediterranean archaeological investigations, especially in Lebanon, and was noted for her typology of stone anchors and skills in archaeological illustration.