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JOLA
Writinganappreciationofanhonoureeforthepurposesofhisorherjubileevolumeistrulyadauntingtask.How
toconveythetruthaboutone’sscholarlyachievementsandcharacterinafewbriefsentences,atthesametimeavoid-
ingapanegyricaltoneandgoingbeyondadrylistofdatesandtitlesofpublishedworks?Tistaskisallthemore
difcultwhenthishonoureeisJolantaMłynarczyk,acolourfulfigurewitharemarkablyrichbiographyinboththe
privateandacademicspheresandapersonalitythatdefieseasydefinition.Inspiteofallthesedifculties,Ishalltry.
Jola,assheisfrequentlycalledininformalPolish,studiedMediterraneanArchaeologyattheUniversityofWarsaw
from1966to1971.HeracademicmentorwasKazimierzMichałowski,thecreatorandpropagatorofthisdisciplinein
Poland.Tankstohisstrongpersonality,inexhaustibleenergyandworldwidecontactsintheglobalacademicmilieu,at
thetimeofJola’sundergraduatestudiesPolisharchaeologyintheMediterraneansawaremarkablyrapiddevelopment.
Withinafewshortyears(1956-1965),Michałowskilaunchedexcavationsonseveralkeysites,fromthenorthern
coastoftheBlackSea(Myrmekion),acrossEgypt(TellAtrib,Alexandria,Deirel-Bahari),Sudan(Faras,Dongola)and
Syria(Palmyra),toCyprus(NeaPaphos).HealsocreatedtheinstitutionalframeworkforPolishresearchonancient
Mediterraneancivilizations.AcentralrolewasassignedtothePolishCentreofMediterraneanArchaeologyofthe
UniversityofWarsawinCairo,foundedin1959.Tiswastheunitthroughwhichallfieldprojectsweremanaged.
TeCentrewascomplementedbythreeinstitutionsinWarsaw:theResearchCentreforMediterraneanArchaeology
ofthePolishAcademyofSciences,whichwasresponsibleforcollecting,archivingandprocessingdocumentation,
aswellaspublishingtheresultsofarchaeologicalresearch;theNationalMuseum,whichcollected,storedandexhib-
itedobjectsacquiredinthecourseofexcavations;andtheChairofMediterraneanArchaeologyattheUniversity
ofWarsaw,whichwastotrainfutureresearchers.Asauniversityprofessor,Michałowskiusedtogiveindividualfinds
orcategoriesofobjectsexcavatedatsiteshedirectedtostudentsfortheirMaster’sDegreetheses.Jola,astudentinter-
estedintheClassicalworld,especiallyGreekculture,wassupposedtoanalyseagroupofoillampsfromTellAtrib.
Afermanyyears,shetoldmeaboutapresentationofherinterimresearchresultsataseminar.Michałowskiwas
constantlydissatisfiedwithsomethingandinterruptedherdiscoursewithhiscomments.Itwassodistractingthatat
somepoint,surprisingherselfasmuchastheaudience,shesnapped:“Sir,whoispresentinghere?Meoryou?”Startled,
Michałowskianswered:“Why,youare,mydear”andremainedsilentfromthenon.Aferheroutburst,Jolaspokeso
wellandmadesuchanimpressionontheprofessorthatheoleredherastudentinternshipintheResearchCentre
forMediterraneanArchaeologyofthePolishAcademyofSciences.Severalyearslater,in1975,thisinformalarrange-
mentturnedintoapermanentposition.JolawasafliatedtotheResearchCentreforMediterraneanArchaeologyPAS
(Polish:ZAŚPAN)foroverthirtyyears,climbingthecareerladderfromassistantresearcher(1975-1981)through
seniorresearcher(1982-1998)toassociateprofessor(1999-2013).Amongherprofessionalresponsibilitiesinthis
institution,besidesresearchwork,wascareforarchaeologicaldocumentationfromNeaPaphossubmittedaferevery
fieldseason.ShealsoactivelyparticipatedinpublishingworkattheCentreaseditorofseveralvolumesintheNea
PaphosandAlexandrieseries.
In2000,stillasanemployeeoftheResearchCentreforMediterraneanArchaeologyofthePolishAcademyof
Sciences,JolawasoleredateachingpositionattheUniversityofWarsaw’sInstituteofArchaeology,intheDepartment
ofNearEasternArchaeology,whichshesubsequentlyheadedbetween2009and2013.From2013onwards,the
UniversityofWarsawbecamehermainplaceofemployment.Despitethelackofpriorteachingexperience(exclud-
ingcontactwithstudentgroupsthatcametoexcavateatNeaPaphos),Jolaturnedouttobeanexcellentuniversity
teacheresteemedforhererudition,clarityandprecisionofexpression,andskilfulblendingoftheorywiththepracti-
calknowledgeshehadgainedduringherrichandvariedfieldactivity.Testimonytoherdidacticsuccessisthelarge
numberofMAthesesandseveraldoctoraldissertationswrittenunderhersupervision.
Jola’sfirstexcavations,likethestartofherworkasanarchaeologistingeneral,wereorchestratedbyKazimierz
Michałowski.Inthesystemhecreated,young,promisingArchaeologygraduateswereoleredlong-termscholarships
attheResearchCentreinCairo,whichdispatchedthemtoworkonspecificsitestohonetheirvocationalskills.Jola
wassenttoAlexandria,whereshespentovertwoyearsbetween1972and1975,takingpartintheexcavationof
aLateAntiqueresidentialquarter.LatershereturnedtoAlexandriaseveraltimes(in1986,1988,1989,1991,1993,
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