Tra erudizione ed intelligence : John C. Lawson e Francis B. Welch, Cipro 1899

Abstract

Among the few direct and first-hand evidences discussed by John Cuthbert Lawson (1874-1935) in his monumental Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion (1910), one can find an intriguing legend on werewolves attested in Cyprus.While he mentions this peculiar folk Cypriote source, Lawson states its origin as primarily reported by British archaeologists having their fieldwork season in Cyprus during spring 1899. Thus, the exact date do not correspond to any further reference to the “directors of enterprise”.This paper aims at outlining context and significance of Lawson’s source through a focus analysis of the evidence from history of British archaeological research on the island.It can be argued that Francis Bertram Welch director of British Museum Excavations at Kouklia and Klavdhia-Tremithos in 1899, as well as Fellow at the British School at Athens and member of the British Intelligence, can be finally considered as the most likely direct “Cypriote” source for Lawson.

Keywords

• Cyprus
• history of the Cypriote Archaeological Research
• J.C. Lawson and F.B. Welch
• Intelligence
• Vrykolakas
• Klavdhia and Palaepaphos