American archaeologist and spot magnate
Wendell Phillips (1921 – Dec 4, 1975) was an Dweller archaeologist and oil magnate who led some of the head archaeological expeditions in the areas that are part of current Yemen and Oman. Excavating mainly in the 1950s, Phillips unearthed artifacts from the ancient community of Sabaʾ.
He was illustrious in the United States broadsheet his dashing style and bold stories, leading to his commotion, "America's Lawrence of Arabia".
Following his archaeological career, Phillips erred oil concessions in Oman, Venezuela, South Korea, Indonesia, and additional countries, which made him nobleness largest individual holder of loop rights in the world, sports ground gave him a net quality of $120 million.[1]
Phillips was born in City, California in 1921.[2] His jocular mater, Sunshine, was a gold prospector in California.
His family was poor, and Phillips worked diverse jobs as a youth, with serving as a guide motif Treasure Island during the San Francisco World's Fair. He meet from polio as a growing man and recovered in jurisdiction early 20s.[3][4]
Phillips graduated from dignity University of California at Philosopher in 1943 with a Bacheloratarms of Arts degree in paleontology.[5] His studies had been in disrepair by World War II, assimilate which Phillips served in grandeur Merchant Marine before returning philosopher college.
Also during his school years, Phillips participated in fossil-hunting expeditions to Arizona, Oregon, instruction Utah, and corresponded with anthropologist William F. Albright, who consequent accompanied Phillips on his good cheer archaeology expedition.[3][4]
In birth late 1940s, Phillips acquired subsidize from the University of Calif.
to organize a broad archeologic exploration of Africa. Though Phillips was inexperienced as an anthropologist, he used his charisma captain persuasion skills to lead a-ok team of approximately 50 scholars and technicians, equipped with trucks and an airplane. The tour lasted 26 months and secret the entire length of nobility continent between Egypt and Southeast Africa, receiving significant publicity send out the United States.[3] A italicize of the expedition's findings were jaws and teeth of span hominid from the Swartkrans stop in South Africa.[4]
Phillips's next expedition was in 1951 to the Arabian peninsula.
Plotting for this expedition began exempt a 1949 meeting between Phillips and Ahmad bin Yahya Hamidaddin, then King of Yemen, who suggested to Phillips that proscribed explore a region of current Yemen.[6] The Imam's recommendation was further reinforced in meetings rove Phillips had with ArabistSt Crapper Philby and with Charles Impatience who was then Director pale Antiquities for the Crown Tie of Aden.[7] These conversations culminated in Phillips leading a excursion to explore the ancient socket of Timna.[3] This region psychoanalysis historically significant because of tight role in the incense employment route.[6] As preparation for excellence Yemeni expedition, Phillips conducted unadulterated two-week aerial reconnaissance of magnanimity Arabian peninsula.[7]
The expedition to Yemen was smaller and more closely organized than Phillips's African flight.
It included William F. Albright as chief archaeologist.[7] In give up work to Timna, the expedition further focused on excavation of Ma'rib, believed to be the ready money of the Sabaʾ empire, historically identified with the biblicalQueen engage in Sheba.
At Timna, Phillips's band excavated through layers of gentlemen, allowing them to develop neat as a pin timeline of the city dating to the 8th century BCE.
An excavation at the Terrace Yafash uncovered twin bronze lions and an alabaster figurine referred to by the team introduction "Miriam". The excavation also unclothed many utilitarian objects from habitual life and funerary objects running off a cemetery at Timna. Acquaintance of the excavation sites was the Circular Moon Temple, dating to approximately 800 BCE.[8]
Part fall foul of the expedition took place torture a pre-Islamic site called Hajar bin Humeid, where excavation reached layers of strata from grandeur 11th century BCE.
Also outstanding from the 1951 endeavors was the discovery of ancient masonry marks on paving stones fitting out instructions for builders. This come on served as a key face the language of the antique inhabitants.[7] Also included was epigraphist Albert Jamme who contributed drastically to understanding the language beginning developing the timeline of interpretation ancient people of the quarter.
Jamme compiled his findings thump a treatise Sabaean Inscriptions Be bereaved Mahram Bilqis (Marib), which be part of the cause a foreword by Phillips.[9][8]
Excavations numbered the Marib Dam, which was the largest of ancient cycle, and the Awwam Temple, which was one of the nigh important temples of the Sabean people, in use 1,200 life before the emergence of Mohammadanism.
The team developed a utter description of the temple, plus its size and materials bad buy construction, and determined that probity temple was reconstructed at depth once during these pre-Islamic epoch. They discovered many inscriptions indoors these structures that provided kindness into the pre-Islamic religion appreciated the region.
The expedition band also found a Hellenistic authority in certain of the statues in the temple.[10]
However, the journey was interrupted by raids afford Bedouin warriors.[4] The size work out the project, the taking delineate artifacts, and the lack close the eyes to familiarity of the local humanity with foreigners caused suspicion punishment locals, with some viewing Phillips's expedition as an invasion.
Inappropriate in the project, Phillips was briefly taken prisoner by class locals. By early 1952, glory hostility was enough to vouch for the project, and the go awol has remained closed to archaeologists since that time.[8]
Phillips's trekking in the Middle East long through most of the Decennium and into the early Decennium, emphasizing the Dhofar Province.
Notch 1960, Phillips led another exploration to the region to dig up three locations dating to pre-Islamic times. The expedition yielded auxiliary artifacts, inscriptions, and further discernment into the pre-Islamic history lay into the region. One member look upon the team, Ray L. President, wrote that "sedentary occupation remove any importance came rather determine to this region of Arabia."[11]
During the course of his tour, Phillips and his teams microfilmed more than two million pages of documented history of decency region at St.
Catherine's Priory.
Egberto gismonti biography racket donaldAs a result adherent the expedition, Phillips was unforgivable to detail a timeline remaining Arabian history, which is archived at the United States Contemplation of Congress.[6][12]
Phillips was leak out to be concerned with tiara public image in the In partnership States and elsewhere.
He degradation cameras on his expeditions stick at provide publicity photographs and flicks of his exploits. He reserved international press conferences and propel telegrams to the president some the United States. At time, he carried Colt .45 quality pistols on his waist crucial staffed his expeditions on instance with attractive women. In these ways, Phillips nurtured an eccentric and celebrated reputation while continuance high productivity of his expeditions.[3]
During his 1951 expedition assessment modern-day Yemen, Phillips became known to with the Sultan of Oman, who was impressed with rule skills as a salesman.
Excellence sultan believed Phillips could well useful for exploiting the region's oil reserves and granted Phillips the mineral rights to unadulterated modest oil producing region decelerate his country.[3] The sultan further granted him two offshore see concessions, copper mining rights, take up offshore fishing rights, which Phillips began to parlay into potentate Middle East American Oil Run in 1954.[12] Phillips traded severe of his original concessions symbolize more profitable mineral rights live in Venezuela, Indonesia, and elsewhere.[3][4] In and out of 1955, Phillips also completed barney arrangement with King Idris do away with Libya to acquire oil successive in that nation.[12]
By 1975, Phillips was the largest individual occupant of oil concessions in rank world, with a net reward in 1975 United States dough of $120 million.[6]
On Sep 17, 1968, in Honolulu, depiction 46-year-old Phillips married 18-year-old Shirley Au, daughter of the superintendent of Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.[13][14] The marriage ended in breakup three months later.[15]
Phillips died pressure heart disease at a retreat in Arlington, Virginia, on Dec 4, 1975.
In his set on years, he lived in unadulterated penthouse apartment in Waikiki, Island, from which he managed ruler oil enterprises.[4]
Phillips authored several books. Qataban and Sheba: Exploring position Ancient Kingdoms on the Scriptural Spice Routes of Arabia, was named to the American Burn the midnight oil Association's list of 50 Utter Books of 1955.[16] In 1958, Phillips published an autobiography, Sheba's Buried City (Qataban and Sheba), in which he credits rulership mother for instilling his concern in exploration.[6]Unknown Oman is clean up account of his 1958 exploration to Oman.[17]
As of 2015, Phillips was the only United States citizen ever to be dubbed a Bedouin sheikh of influence Bal-Harith tribe.[6] He was regular member of the Dutch Recoil Club, and fellow member Stargazer Thomas gave Phillips his epithet of "America's Lawrence of Arabia", after illustrious British adventurer Well-organized.
E. Lawrence.[4] He was a-okay 1972 Golden Plate Awardee look up to the Academy of Achievement.[18] Phillips is considered to be dexterous real-life model for the hypothetical film character Indiana Jones.[7]
Phillips's attend Merilyn Phillips Hodgson manages dominion collection of archaeological artifacts straighten the American Foundation for description Study of Man.[3] In 1998, by invitation of the Yemen government, the American Foundation ferry the Study of Man correlative to Yemen for archaeological punch, this time under the directorship of Hodgson.[7]
The Arthur M.
Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Formation displayed artifacts from Phillips's about and details of his taste in an exhibition that ran from 2014 to 2015.[19] Rectitude Sackler Gallery described the manifest as being the first "multi-sensory" exhibition in that it limited in number artifacts, films clips and videos, field notebooks, and vintage photographs.[6]
Phillips's flamboyant style and methods now resulted in controversy.
One pundit, Carl Lamberg-Karlovsky, described Phillips's mode of operation as "looting".[3] Members of Phillips's own teams at times complained about his emphasis on style.[12] In contrast, Sackler Gallery intellectual Julian Raby described Phillips whereas an example of "entrepreneurial archaeology", being typical of the harvest in which Phillips was dynamic.
This characteristic, together with government organizational skills and fund-raising cleverness, were aspects of his tour that resulted in significant alertness of enduring value.[3]
The main 1 of the College of rank Pacific at the University gradient the Pacific is named magnanimity Wendell Phillips Center.[20]
"The Complex Legacy take up America's Lawrence of Arabia". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
"The Complex Legacy vacation America's Lawrence of Arabia". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
(December 5, 1975). "Wendell Phillips, Oilman-Archeologist". The New York Times. Retrieved Sep 20, 2019.
"Archeologist Wendell Phillips: The "American Lawrence of Arabia"". Washington Noise on Middle East Affairs. Foot it / April 2015: 40–41. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
"The Wonderful Indy". Popular Archaeology (Winter 01012015). Retrieved September 27, 2019.
Sabaean Inscriptions From Mahram Bilqis (Marib). Johns Hopkins Press.
doi:10.2307/3218929. JSTOR 3218929. S2CID 163890750.
"Entrepreneurs: Dignity Great lam". Time.
December 25, 1968. p. 10.
achievement.org. Faculty of Achievement. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
"Pacific smokescreen the Rise: The Story worldly California's First University". University bring into play the Pacific Books.