Michèle Blanchard-Lemée (1936-2017) et l’Afrique antique

Abstract

Michèle Blanchard-Lemée (1936-2017), from an early date associated with the team of Henri Stern at the CNRS and work on the corpus of ancient mosaics of Gaul, was at the same time also a disciple of G. Ch. Picard. She began her scientific career with a study about African mosaics under the authority of G. Ville and her interest in African archaeology continued to the end. Her thesis on the mosaic pavements of Djemila (Algeria), under the direction of P.-A. Février, was a landmark, and this site remained at the heart of her concerns, exemplified in her recent posthumous publication focused on the “house of Bacchus” at Djemila. Her research work, her advices about restoration and museography of ancient mosaics in Algeria, her role in the dissemination of mosaic studies in that country and her training of other researchers, gave her a significant place in the recent developments of Algerian archaeology and Franco-Algerian co-operation.

Keywords

• ancient mosaics
• North Africa
• Tunisia
• Carthage
• House of the Horses
• Algeria