Elizabeth Douglas Van Buren


Elizabeth Douglas Van Buren was a British Classical and Near-eastern archaeologist.

Early life and education

Elizabeth was born in London in 1881 to John Archibald Douglas and Mary Anne McLachlan. She studied at Girton College, University of Cambridge. She was a member of the British School at Rome from 1909 to 1911.

Career

She studied art history and archaeology and subsequently went to Rome for research. There she married the American archaeologist Albert William Van Buren on 19 August 1914, who had worked at the American School of Classical Studies, and later at the American Academy in Rome.
Van Buren initially specialized in ancient terracottas used as siding for archaic buildings in Italy and Greece. Later she turned to the figurative art of Mesopotamia as a research focus. Van Buren was a corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute, and was elected member of the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies.
She was noted for her contributions on excavations in Warka to Iraq. Her numerous publications on artefacts and iconography from Mesopotamia were described as "indispensable works of reference". In total she produced 66 publications in the subject of Near Eastern studies, and 18 publications in the areas of Greek, Etruscan and Roman archaeology.
Elizabeth died in 1961, and was buried in the Parte Antica of the Protestant Cemetery, Rome.

Works