Megaw, Hubert, 1910-2006

Arthur Hubert Stanley Megaw, born in Dublin, never had an academic post at a university, but his work during 75 years of excavations and restorations, particularly in Cyprus, as well as his writings, had an important influence on Byzantine studies. He prepared for a career in architecture at Peterhouse at the University of Cambridge, earning a MA, but it was archaeology that captured his interest. “Peter,” as he was known to friends and colleagues, began archaeological work at the British School of Archaeology in Athens in 1932; when Cyprus became independent in 1935, he became director of the department of antiquities in Cyprus, at age 26, a post he held till 1960. In 1951 he received the honor of Commander of the British Empire. From 1960 to 1968 he was director of the British School at Athens, then spent many years between the Harvard Center for Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington D.C. and the Byzantine Institute of America in Istanbul, where he was acting field director.