He was a Victorian archaeologist, working in Egypt. He developed the system of dating finds and dating the layers they were found in, based on pottery and other ceramic finds. This is still the way its done these days, and the Monmouth archaeologists, with whom I have worked in the past, use this method.
So I was delighted when I realised he had latterly worked in Jerusalem, and was buried there in 1942 .... or most of him was !! Curious ? Read on ...
Flinders had moved to Jerusalem in 1933, and continued to work, mostly in what was then Palestine. He was a brilliant man .. it was said that he could do calculations normally done (in those days) with a slide rule ... but he 'used' an imaginery slide rule in his brain, and visualised the calculations without the use of the instrument, and was always correct !
Because he was so clever (and knew it !) he had ordered that on his death his head, and thus his brain, should go to the Royal College of Surgeons in London, for research purposes. He died during the war, but his wife, Hilda, managed to return to England with his head, in a hat-box on her knee in the plane, and deposited it at the College as he wished !! Gruesome hand luggage .... can you imagine getting that through security these days ?!
On our trip, we had an optional half day trip to the Dead Sea; I've been there twice before, so opted to stay in Jerusalem for the afternoon, and decided to try and find the grave of Flinders.
Via Mr Google, I discovered he was buried in the Protestant Cemetery, just a mile south of the hotel we were staying in, (which was next to the Jaffa Gate) .... so after lunch, I walked out of the old city, and tried to find the cemetery. The roads I had to cross were fairly terrifying (people drive at speed on the 'wrong' side of the road in Israel !) but I eventually found the cemetery .... only to discover it was closed !! I hadn't realised it had a more famous occupant than Flinders ....
... I had seen a photo of Flinders grave on the internet, and peering through the railings, I think from the position of the trees, that this grave with the curved top MAY be it .... but I'm not very sure ....
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After leaving the closed cemetery on Mount Zion, I returned to the old city, through the Zion Gate, wandered around through the Armenian zone, and then found my way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre ......
.... which deserves several postings of it own. Note the ladder under the central window .... more of that next time !
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