Swedish Archaeologist Prof. Dr. Axel Waldemar Persson’s Studies in Türkiye
Gülşah Eser, Kubilay ArpacıProf. Dr. Axel Waldemar Persson (1888-1951) was a leading name in the field of archaeology with his archaeological excavations and academic studies. Persson, who had been excavating various parts of Greece since the 1920s, obtained excavation permission in Türkiye with the decree in 1935 signed on the basis of the reference of Gustaf VI Adolf, Crown Prince of Sweden. In this context, Persson carried out drilling works in Milas Genciktepe in order to find traces of the Carian civilization, and with the decree in 1936, he took the management of the Genciktepe Excavation. In order to protect and exhibit the finds from this excavation, the request to convert the Milas Firuz Bey Mosque into a museum was raised with Persson’s initiatives in 1938. In the following period, his studies in Türkiye were interrupted with the beginning of World War II. Persson returned to Türkiye with the Labraunda Excavation in 1948 and continued to work as the head of the excavation until his death.
This study aims to examine his works in Türkiye in a holistic way, based on the information obtained from the literature review, as well as archival documents and the national press. The research has concluded that Persson wanted with his archaeological excavations in Genciktepe and Labraunda to prove his understanding that the civilizations that had ruled in the Aegean during the Prehistoric period had had a common culture.
İsveçli Arkeolog Prof. Dr. Axel Waldemar Persson’un Türkiye’deki Çalışmaları
Gülşah Eser, Kubilay ArpacıProf. Dr. Axel Waldemar Persson (1888-1951) yürütmüş olduğu arkeolojik kazıları ve akademik çalışmalarıyla arkeoloji alanının önde gelen isimlerindendir. 1920’li yıllardan itibaren Yunanistan’ın çeşitli bölgelerinde kazılar yapan Persson, İsveç Veliahdı VI. Gustaf Adolf’un referans olmasına binaen imzalanan 1935 yılındaki kararnameyle Türkiye’de kazı izni almıştır. Bu bağlamda Karya medeniyetinin izlerini sürmek amacıyla Milas Genciktepe’de sondaj çalışmaları yapmış ve 1936’daki kararnameyle de Genciktepe Kazısı’nın idaresini almıştır. Bu kazıda çıkan buluntuların korunması ve sergilenebilmesi amacıyla 1938’de Milas Firuz Bey Camii’nin müzeye çevrilme talebi Persson’un girişimleriyle gündeme gelmiştir. II. Dünya Savaşı’nın başlamasıyla birlikte Türkiye’deki çalışmalarına ara vermiştir. 1948’deki Labraunda Kazısı ile tekrar Türkiye’ye gelen Persson buradaki kazı başkanlığı görevini vefatına kadar sürdürmüştür.
Bu araştırmada literatür taramasından elde edilen bilgilerin yanı sıra arşiv belgeleri ve ulusal basın temel alınarak onun Türkiye’deki çalışmalarının bütüncül bir şekilde incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırmada Persson’un Prehistorik Dönem’de Ege’de hüküm sürmüş medeniyetlerin ortak bir kültüre sahip oldukları anlayışını Genciktepe ve Labraunda’daki arkeolojik kazılarıyla kanıtlamak istediği sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.
Axel Waldemar Persson (1888-1951) was an important name in the world of archaeology and prominent for his archaeological excavations in Greece and Türkiye. He was a professor of Classical Archaeology at Uppsala University and had an international reputation. The education he received, the excavations he carried out, and his personal characteristics also had an important share in this fame. Persson had come to the forefront with his more instructive personality and drew a moderate human profile; he also had the power to shape the events in his own direction with the importance he attached to bilateral relations and his maneuvers that could be considered almost political. In fact, this power would influence the Swedish Crown Prince Gustaf VI Adolf, and Persson’s most important reference in his work would be the Crown Prince.
One of the countries where Persson requested to dig was Türkiye. Although he had tried to obtain excavation permission in Türkiye as of 1934, his attempts unfortunately had had negative results, the reason being that the military authorities had found the planned excavations to be inconvenient. Persson did not give up, though. During the Swedish Crown Prince’s visit to Türkiye in the autumn of 1934, he repeated his request to perform an excavation, and the Crown Prince was effective in changing this by mentioning his name to the one who was in charge of evaluating the situation. After lengthy correspondences and assessments and citing the importance of Turkish-Swedish relations, Persson’s excavation in Türkiye was accepted on the conditions that he not enter military zones and that he remain under the supervision of an officer. The excavation permit was formalized by the decree signed by President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on June 3, 1935. Persson was now in Türkiye and began archaeological excavations at Milas Genciktepe in June right after the decree had been issued. The work of the Genciktepe Excavation was echoed in the press as well as in the scientific world in the following period. Persson made statements to the newspapers from time to time, enlightening the public about his work and increasing his recognition. The professor talked about the beauties of Türkiye and the Turkish people in his discourses, praising them and emphasizing the importance he had attached; thus, he had found a way to be loved and accepted not only in the world of science but also in the eyes of the public.
Professor Persson was in Türkiye for many years, although his time there was interrupted occasionally. Among his works in Türkiye, the Milas Genciktepe Excavation had a pioneering quality. During this excavation, the discovery of important artifacts belonging to the Carians and the great expense required to transfer these to the Izmir Museum for exhibition led to the works needing to be kept in Milas. The most suitable place for preserving and exhibiting the works was the Firuz Bey Mosque. Therefore, administration of this structure was requested to be transferred from the Waqf administration to Maarif. The main reason for requesting Firuz Bey Mosque be turned into a museum was to preserve the finds found in the Genciktepe excavations Persson had carried out. This situation clearly revealed Persson’s influence in the request for Firuz Bey Mosque to be converted into a museum. Various official institutions, especially the Prime Minister’s Office, followed an attitude in favor of this mosque being open for worship. As a result, the artifacts from the excavations were transferred to İzmir. In other words, the request had been denied.
Persson had increased his reputation with Milas Genciktepe and would also direct the Labranda Excavation in the following years. His post as head of excavations there lasted from 1948-1951. Persson returned to his country and died in 1951 due to a stroke. The excavation continued with Gösta Säflund from the same university. In other words, the importance of Swedish archaeologists and moreover the Uppsala school had increased pertaining to excavations in Türkiye.
Despite Persson’s contributions to archaeological studies in Türkiye, unfortunately no independent study describing his excavations here could be found. Therefore, this article aims to detail Persson’s excavation process in Türkiye and to mention the work he did. The study uses a literature review, archive search, and document analysis as its methods. Based on the obtained information and findings, Persson is seen to have left behind a well-known and appreciated name in the world of science, to have inspired many students to grow up as scientists, and to have contributed to many works in the literature. Although he had suffered interruptions, he did devote almost a quarter of his life to his work in Türkiye and is concluded to have taken his important place in the history of Turkish excavations.
