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Harriet Boyd (1871-1945), an American archaeologist, was the first woman in the world to ever plan, co-ordinate and publish the finds of an archaeological excavation. She is quite well-known in the region of Lassithi since she was the one to carry out a dig at Gournia (and Kavoussi before that). However, this exceptionally charismatic person was a lot more than an archaeologist. She served as a nurse during the so-called Unfortunate Greco-Turkish War of 1897, and later on during World War I. She also ran a hospital in Corfu, which she set up especially for the wounded and the convalescing post-typhoid war captives from Serbia. She was the first woman to ever drive a medical-purpose vehicle up in the mountains of France, as well as during WW I. In addition to all that, Harriet Boyd was there to assist women during labour and make sure that their newborns survived, in the isolated village of Kavoussi of the early 20th century, by teaching them better hygiene routines. A passionate democrat and a socialist, with an extensive political activity, she believed that the future of post-war Europe lay in the creation of a federation of nations, thus foreseeing the realization of the European Union.
During the challenging times that we currently live in, with fascism on the rise and on-going wars around the world, facing extensive crisis and hunger, and on the other hand witnessing the demise of the study of the Humanities, a life paradigm such as Harriet Boyd’s can serve us as a beacon of light.
Dr Metaxia Tsipopoulou is an archaeologist, a Hellenic Ministry of Culture Honorary Directress and chief researcher at the Petras dig.
