Remembering Colin Renfrew: a life’s work on the Cyclades and beyond

Colin Renfrew, professor at the University of Cambridge, famed internationally as an archaeologist with a special interest in Greek prehistory and a profound affection for Greece, died in Cambridge on 24 November 2024. A former Chair of the British School at Athens and an Honorary Member of the Archaeological Society of Athens, he was also closely associated with the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. Renfrew first came to Greece in 1963, wrote his PhD on Cycladic prehistory, and went on to excavate at Saliagos (Antiparos), Sitagroi (Macedonia), Phylakopi (Melos), Markiani (Amorgos), and Keros, leaving us exemplary publications of his excavations. His 1972 volume The Emergence of Civilisation revolutionised Aegean prehistory, and his many other high-calibre publications cement his place in the pantheon of archaeologists of Greece and the world. Moreover, Colin Renfrew was distinguished for his active stand against the international illicit trade in antiquities, founding at the University of Cambridge the Illicit Antiquities Research Centre, and showing particular sensitivity towards the orphaned Early Cycladic antiquities that formed a principal focus of his scholarly work.

We invite you to join us in honouring his memory and remembering his immense contribution to Greece, Greek culture, and Greek archaeology, and his immeasurable impact on the development of the study of Early Cycladic culture.

For the full programme of speakers, please visit the BSA website.

This event will be recorded but will not take place as a live hybrid presentation. A video recording will be released in due course on the BSA Video Archive.