The life of the late Professor Lech Krzyżaniakarchaeologist in 407 pictures

On the webpage of the Poznań Archaeological Museum you can view 407 photos documenting the work of the late Professor Lech Krzyżaniak, the museum's long-standing director. Prof. Krzyżaniak was an expert in the archaeology of North-Eastern Africa.

Lech Krzyżaniak was born on 5 February 1940, in Wilków, Szamotuły district. He started working for the Poznań Archaeological Museum whilst studying archaeology at university.

"Lech Krzyżaniak's academic career, if you were to measure it by academic achievements, was probably one of the fastest in post-war archaeology: at 28, he received a doctorate for his thesis on the burial ceremonies in Pomeranian culture. By 1975 he received a habilitation, and in 1992, after a lecture at the University of Warsaw, he was made a Professor of Humanities Studies"- said Marek Lemiesz, an ex-worker of the museum.

A turning point in Krzyżaniak's career was meeting Prof. Kazimierz Michałowski - the creator of Polish Mediterranean Archaeology. What is interesting is that Krzyżaniak was at first interested in American civilizations and wanted to do excavations in Mexico. The political situation wasn't the best and Prof. Michałowski suggested that the young and keen archaeologist should go to Egypt. This is when, what the professor called, his "Romance with Africa" began.

The photos from Prof. Krzyżaniak's expeditions are titled "the Life of an Archaeologist in 407 pictures" and are available for viewing at: http://www.muzarp.poznan.pl/muzeum/muz_pol/wspomnienie/index_lechk.html

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland tr. ajb, Szymon Zdziebłowski