Hetty Goldman papers

Hetty’s Goldman’s career in archaeology was conducted against the backdrop of a series of world upheavals, yet throughout, she persevered not only in her desire to engage in field archaeology, but also in her philanthropic devotion to those people in the Mediterranean touched by turbulent times. Goldman was part of the first generation of American archaeologists to work in the Mediterranean, and she became the first American woman to direct an archaeological excavation on mainland Greece. Remembered as a woman of exceptional wit and humor and a scholar of unshakable principles and determination, Goldman left behind a legacy worthy of her pioneering spirit.

Goldman (1881-1972) was born in New York City to a wealthy banking family. She entered Bryn Mawr College in 1899, pursuing a double major in English and Greek, completing her undergraduate degree in 1903. She then began graduate studies at Columbia University in Ancient Greek, where she remained for several years. In 1909 she enrolled in the graduate department for classical languages and archaeology at Radcliffe College. From 1910 to 1912, she completed a Charles Eliot Norton Fellowship from Harvard University for Greek Studies at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. During her fellowship, she began her first excavation on acropolis in Halae with Alice Leslie Walker, a fellow student, in May of 1911. After the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Goldman went back to the United States and earned her Ph.D in 1916 at Radcliffe College.

In 1922 Goldman excavated Colophon in Ionia with Carl W. Blegen, but the excavation was shut down by the Graeco-Turkish war. She directed her next excavation at the site of a Eutresis in Boeotia investigating prehistoric times (1924-1927). In 1932, Goldman’s cousin connected her with the team for the archaeological survey through Yugoslavia and later the excavation of Starčevo that revealed Neolithic remains. In 1934, Goldman joined the Department of Archaeology of Bryn Mawr College in Tarsus, Cilicia, on the Southeast coast of Turkey. Her work there, alongside Bryn Mawr professors and students, lasted for several seasons, ending finally with the outbreak of World War II.

Goldman’s charitable work often claimed her time during war times. She volunteered as a nurse for the American Red Cross Commission to Greece in 1913. She continued to work with the American Red Cross Home Service Department, the Department of Public Information in Washington D.C. and the Joint Distribution Committee for the Relief of Jewish War Sufferers in Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, and the US for many years.

Goldman returned to academia in 1936 as a professor in the School of Humanities Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, New Jersey; she was the institute’s first woman professor. Upon the agreement that allowed her to continue to Tarsus, Goldman worked on publications of Tarsus, Halae, and other interests at IAS during the war years. She retired from IAS in 1947, and worked with the publication of the Tarsus volumes. Goldman would receive many honors in the field of archaeology and classical studies for her archaeological career.

Hetty Goldman was not only an important early 20th century archaeologist, she was a pioneering figure in the field. As the first women to lead an excavation (in Tarsus with Bryn Mawr College), and one of the first women ever to receive a PhD in the field, Goldman and her work are part of an important period in the history of archaeology. This collection focuses doubly on Goldman’s life through photographs and correspondence, and on her important work in collaboration with Bryn Mawr in Tarsus through photographs and notebooks. The collection’s largest strength lies in the access it gives to Goldman’s life and thinking through photographs, letters, and speeches.