Machteld Mellink was born in the Netherlands in 1917, and died in Pennsylvania in February, 2006. Her academic career began at the University of Amsterdam, but in 1940, Holland was invaded by Germany and Mellink became a member of the Dutch Resistance. She finally obtained her PhD in 1943 from the University of Utrecht, and in 1946-1947 arrived at Bryn Mawr where she stayed, teaching and conducting research, for the next forty years.
An Expert in Anatolian Archaeology
Dr. Mellink was an international expert on Anatolian archaeology. Over her career she worked with the pioneer Hetty Goldman at Tarsus and then conducted her own excavations at Gordion, capital of the Phyrgian King Midas. Mellink was best known for her work in the region of Elmali in Turkey, where she brought international attention to the cultural heritage of Turkey and the growing prevalence of looting and illegal export of artifacts. She was most fascinated by the evidence for commerce between ancient Greece and the Near Eastern civilizations. Her last project was as a partner in the recent excavations at Troy, under the Universities of Tuebingen and Cincinnati.Mellink was a prolific writer, publishing her research in books, monographs, and articles. She won numerous awards, among them an honorary LLD from the University of Pennsylvania and an honorary Doctorate of History from the University of Eskisehir. She won the Gold Medal for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement in 1991 and the University of Pennsylvania’s Lucy Wharton Drexel Medal for Archaeological Achievement in 1991, among scads of other international honors. She was president of the American Research Institute in Turkey from 1988-1991 and of the Archaeological Institute of America from 1980-1984. At Bryn Mawr she was department chair for Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology between 1955 and 1983.
Making the Baby Laugh
Her most lasting legacy, however, is the scores of undergraduate and graduate students she advised and supported throughout her career; and the generous efforts she made to support her colleagues around the world. Maureen Basedow (Miami University of Ohio) was a student of Dr. Mellink's at Bryn Mawr College during the 1980s and recalled her warmth and generosity in difficult times.“When I was an early post-doc,” recalled Dr. Basedow, “indeed, before that, there was a lot of pressure on archaeologists, particularly on the women, to show that they were serious about the profession, especially the field end of things. Any lapses, be they in energy on a hot day or enthusiasm for another dissertation-destroying three month season, were remarked upon. As for one's personal life, forget it. When I was pregnant with my son Steven it was suggested that I might have waited until my second book was finished. When I had my daughter two years later, well, as Oscar Wilde might have put it, one is OK, but two is sheer carelessness. Didn't I already have one? These were hard times when I had every reason to believe I was losing opportunities and respect and no longer considered a serious archaeologist. Right after Tess was born, I had asked Machteld Mellink, who had been my undergraduate professor and who I knew from Troy too, for a letter of reference. Normally so prompt with her correspondence, I post-partumly despaired when I didn't hear back from her. Maybe she too no longer considered me worth supporting. A month later, a postcard arrived bearing a Trojan Face Pot. She confirmed she'd sent the letter and apologized for the delay in letting me know, saying 'It took me a long time to find a postcard. I have so many archaeological postcards, but it wasn't easy finding one that would make babies laugh.'"
By all accounts, Machteld Mellink was a witty, sensitive, insightful archaeologist and teacher whose friendships with students and colleagues were rich and lifelong. As archaeologist Maureen Basedow put it, "She never stopped teaching me things."
