In this documentary contemporary archaeologist Chris Naunton traces the life and work of Sir Flinders Petrie, an English archaeologist who laid the foundations for modern excavation. He trained as a surveyor, and spent his initial career working in Egypt to try and measure the Pyramids. Thereafter he spent many years working in Egypt and Palestine on various digs in conjunction with fellow- Britons as well as local workers.
As presented in this documentary, Petrie comes across as an obsessive - someone whose passion for Egyptology goaded him on to even more daring exploits until he was in his eighties. Often a difficult man to get on with, he nonetheless devised new cataloging strategies that are still used today. Some of his beliefs, especially in eugenics, could be considered racist today; it was clear he was quite intolerant of modern innovations such as the television, radio or gramophone.
While the program celebrates Petrie's work, it perhaps neglects the fact that the groundwork for modern archeology was laid by the Germans a century before Petrie. But then such facts might get in the way of a good story.
As presented in this documentary, Petrie comes across as an obsessive - someone whose passion for Egyptology goaded him on to even more daring exploits until he was in his eighties. Often a difficult man to get on with, he nonetheless devised new cataloging strategies that are still used today. Some of his beliefs, especially in eugenics, could be considered racist today; it was clear he was quite intolerant of modern innovations such as the television, radio or gramophone.
While the program celebrates Petrie's work, it perhaps neglects the fact that the groundwork for modern archeology was laid by the Germans a century before Petrie. But then such facts might get in the way of a good story.
