Sad News: Dr John Alexander

McDonald Institute

Fellows and Members will be saddened to hear of the death, on Monday 16th August, of Dr John Alexander, aged 88. Previously a student at Pembroke College, he had been a Fellow of St John's College since 1976 and was a former Lecturer in Iron Age Archaeology in the Department of Archaeology.

During his time in the Department and after retirement, he continued to pursue both European and African archaeology, undertaking rescue archaeology within Cambridgeshire and neighbouring counties, and later being Director of the Egypt Exploration Society excavations at Qasr Ibrim, in Egyptian Nubia.

He was involved in the founding of ‘Rescue’ and served for many years on the councils of the Prehistoric Society, the Council for British Archaeology, and the Sudan Archaeological Research Society, being Vice-President of the former two institutions, and Vice-Chairman of the latter. In addition he was a Council member of the Egypt Exploration Society and the British Institute in Eastern Africa, founding editor of the Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology and President of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society.