Ekrem Akurgal
Date of Birth :
March 30, 1911
Place of Birth :
Tulkarm, Palestine
Country :
Turkey
Field of Expertise :
Archeologist
Educational background :
He received his first education from his father's sister and her husband, who taught literature in Darülfünun.Akurgal graduated in 1931 from Istanbul High School for Boys and, having earned a state scholarship, went to the University of Berlin in Germany to study archaeology.
Acheivements / Contributions :
In 1957, he became a professor in University of Ankara. He worked mainly in the Aegean Region, starting the researches on Phokaia (Foça), Pitane (Çandarlı), Erythrai (Ildırı) and old Smyrna (Bayraklı tumulus). He published numerous books on ancient Greek, Hittite and other ancient civilizations of Anatolia.
Akurgal received honorary doctorates from the University of Bordeaux, France in 1961, the University of Athens, Greece in 1988, the University of Lecce, Italy in 1990 and the Anadolu University in Eskişehir in 1990.
He was titular of the German Great Cross of Merit with star in 1979, of the Goethe Medal in 1979, of Italian Commendatore of the Order of Merit of the Republic in 1987 and of French Légion d'honneur Officier.
Bibliography :
Ekrem Akurgal (March 30, 1911 – November 1, 2002) was a Turkish archaeologist. During a career that spanned more than fifty years, he conducted definitive research in several sites .Akurgal died on November 1, 2002 in İzmir. His work and legacy is being carried on by his wife, Meral Akurgal, an accomplished archaeologist herself and his closest assistant in his lifetime.
