Honor Frost

Honor Frost (28 October 1917 – 12 September 2010) was a pioneer in the field of underwater archaeology, who led many Mediterranean archaeological investigations, especially in Lebanon, and was noted for her typology of stone anchors and skills in archaeological illustration.

Early life An only child, Frost was born in Nicosia, Cyprus. She was orphaned at an early age and became the ward of Wilfrid Evill, a London solicitor and art collector.

Frost studied art at the Central School of Art, and the Ruskin School of art, she then worked on ballet set design with Rambert and held a job at Tate Britain as the Director of Publications.

Career

Frost became a diver soon after Cousteau's invention of SCUBA, and worked as a diver and artist in the early 1950s in France and Italy. As a member of the world's first scuba diving club, the Club Alpin Sous-Marin, Dumas would later go on to help her on the Gelidonya excavation.

In 1957, Frost worked on her first land excavation as a draughtsmen in Jericho led by Dame Kathleen Kenyon. The excavation of this wreck is of special significance, as it was the first to be conducted following a rigorous scientific approach.

From 1971 she led the investigation of the Marsala Punic shipwreck in Sicily, Italy.

In 2005, BSAC awarded her the Colin McLeod award for Furthering international co-operation in diving for her work in archaeology.

She died on 12 September 2010. The substantial art collection that she had inherited upon Wilfrid Evill's death was used to endow the Honor Frost Foundation which supplies funds for underwater archaeology in the Mediterranean. Many of her books are also now held at the University of Southampton library.

Personal life Frost owned a second home in Malta with her primary residence in Marylebone as inherited from Evill, where she possessed a major collection of artworks from 20th-century British painters, especially those by Stanley Spencer. This collection was auctioned after her death, the proceeds of which comprise the bulk of funding for the Honor Frost Foundation. She regularly contributed to the Mariner's Mirror, the journal published by the Society of Nautical Studies, most notably on the anchor, which was regarded as her favourite topic. (1973) 'Ancore, the potsherds of marine archaeology: on the recording of pierced stones from the Mediterranean', Marine Archaeology 1973, pp. 397–409. (1974) 'The Punic wreck in Sicily 1. Second season of excavation.' International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 3.1:35–40 (1975) 'The Pharos Site, Alexandria, Egypt.' International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 4.1:126–130. (1976) 'When is a wreck not a wreck?' International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 5.2:01–105 (1985) '''Pyramidal Stone Anchors: An Enquiry.' in H.E. Tzalas (ed.) TROPIS I. 1st International Symposium on Ship Construction in Antiquity. Piraeus. 97–112 (1987) 'Where did they build ancient warships?' in H.E. Tzalas (ed.) TROPIS 2. 2nd International Symposium on Ship Construction in Antiquity. 181–94. (1987) 'How Carthage Lost the Sea: Off the Coast of Sicily, a Punic Warship Gives up its Secret', Natural History, December 1987; 58–67 (1989) 'Where did Bronze Age Ships Keep their Stone Anchors?' in H. Tzalas (ed.), TROPIS III. Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Ship Construction in Antiquity, Athens 1989. 167–175. (1996) 'Old Saws' in H. Tzalas (ed.), TROPIS IV. 4th International Symposium on Ship Construction in Antiquity. 189–98.