Arthur Evans in Dubrovnik and Split (1875-1882)

Thanks to the biography by Joan Evans, sister of Arthur Evans, the research of John J. Wilkes and the new biography by Silvia L. Horwitz, we know much about Arthur Evans’s work in the Balkans prior to his discoveries on Crete. This work will not repeat here the achievements Evans has made for archaeology, ethnography and cultural history of the region including his remarkable journalistic work where he showed deep knowledge of regional politics and admiration towards the Slav freedom movement ‘against Turks, Austrians, Russians, or any others – including Englishmen – who refused them their right to self-determination’. This work presents some details on the everyday life of Arthur Evans in Dubrovnik and Split as seen by the local people who wrote about him in newspapers, journals or books, material that is not easily available to those interested in Evans’s pre-Knossos period.