Olga Tufnell

Olga Tufnell (26 January 1905 – 11 April 1985) was a British archaeologist who assisted on the excavation of the ancient city of Lachish in the 1930s. She had no formal training in archaeology, but had worked as a secretary for Flinders Petrie for a number of years before being given a field assignment. Olga then went on to join James Leslie Starkey in the expedition to find Lachish in 1929 and remained part of the team for the following seasons.

When Starkey was killed in 1938, the team finished the season then closed the site. Olga volunteered to write up the report of the dig and spent the following twenty years researching and writing up the majority of the excavation report. Olga's work has been regarded as the "pre-eminent source book for Palestinian archeology". Once the report was published, she turned her attention to cataloguing scarabs and other seals.

Many of Olga Tufnell's original letters and photographs are housed today at the Palestine Exploration Fund in London. Those published from 1927-1938 provide insights into dig life and archaeology, as well as the wider socio-cultural, political, and gendered context of colonial life within Mandate-era Palestine.

Early life Olga Tufnell was born on 26 January 1905 in Sudbury, Suffolk, to a prominent landholding family. Her father, Beauchamp Le Fevre Tufnell, had been a second lieutenant in the 4th Battalion of Essex Regiment, and her mother, Blanche, maintained a broad range of cultural interests, as well as working with the Anglo-Czech Society. Olga was a middle child with two brothers, Joliffe Gilbert Tufnell and Louis de Saumarez Tufnell. She spent her early life in Little Waltham, and was educated at schools in London and Belgium before going to finishing school in Italy. but also spent some time drawing and repairing pottery. Sir Flinders joined the group in 1930 and after reviewing Olga's work, allowed her to publish it under her own name. The remaining team finished during the 1938/9 season, then closed the site. Olga wrote the final report.

Return to London The Wellcome Foundation allowed Olga some rooms at St John's Lodge in London's Regent's Park, where the University College London's Institute of Archaeology had recently been established. Although the majority held that Starkey's interpretation was more likely, in 1973 subsequent excavations vindicated her opinion.

In 1951, Olga became a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. She was proud of this award and called it one of her "greatest achievements". with the final publication (Lachish IV) in 1957.

Later life Once the full report had been published, Olga turned her attention to the study of scarabs, working with William Ayres Ward.