Monday, June 1, 2015

Strange things you can find on the internet: David Stewart Crawford's gravestone in Cairo

He was the editor of P. Fuad Univ. and, posthumously, P. Michael(idae).
In my first papyrological seminar with Ludwig Koenen, another student was working on a Byzantine papyrus whose best parallel was in P. Michael. Al-Ahramon the 50th anniversary in 2002, describes what happened: 
The next day, [after an attack by British forces on an Egyptian police station in Ismalia, killing 41] demonstrators gathered in Cairo to protest against the slaughter. The absence of police control of any sort (which was hardly surprising) allowed the crowd to quickly develop into a rampaging mob. Led by extremists, the rioters set about systematically torching foreign-owned interests -- bars, cinemas, hotels. In one attack nine members of the Turf Club -- a name synonymous with British imperialism in Egypt -- were killed. They were stripped and beaten to death before their bodies were consigned to the flames of the burning building. In total, 26 foreigners were killed on what became known as "Black Saturday." 

Several of Crawford's readings could have been improved in comparison with the new text, but, we were told, the original was lost in Cairo when the editor was killed in the rioting there in 1952. At least I think that's what he said.  But George Michaelides' collection manuscript collection can now be tracked down because of Sarah Clackson's article, "The Michaelides Manuscript Collection" in ZPE 100 (1994), 223-6The Turf Club is now the Cairo Center Hotel.

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