Charlie Dortch: History and archaeology across three continents

Abstract

Charlie Dortch's lasting interest in the human past could be said to have begun in his childhood in Atlanta, Georgia, surrounded by Native American and Civil War heritage. After service in the US Army in Berlin from 1959-1961, he graduated in 1963 from the University of Southern Mississippi with a BSc in history and a penchant for adventure. He fulfilled the latter by working as navigator and surveyor for geophysical crews in Brazil and Libya - valuable experience for running archaeological fieldwork. With support from the GI Bill, Charlie undertook an MPhil at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London (UCL), submitting a major analysis and review of the lithics from Ksar Akil, Lebanon (Dortch 1970). While enrolled in this degree programme Charlie also spent 14 months on excavations of Palaeolithic sites in the Perigord and Thames Valley. Another excavation in Dorset was also significant because there he met Mary Cavender, his wife-to-be; they married in 1968.