I first ran into Paul as a short round 15 year-old on a dig in Peterborough and re-established contact much later at the 1984± SHA conference in Williamsburg, VA where we caught up with him as Dr. Paul Courtney, still a short, round guy but with a big bushy beard;) His posts combining UK, USA (peripherally related) with continental archaeology were always interesting. He'd told me of his malaise and only yesterday I had thought I'd not heard from him and was today going to send an email. Amazing how things work through the ether. We are all much diminished by his passing.

Lyle Browning


On May 22, 2013, at 9:54 AM, McCarthy, John P. wrote:

> That is very sad news indeed.  Paul made many posts here and on other forums that were interesting and  insightful.
> 
> Thank you for sharing, Alasdair.  
> 
> John
> 
> John P. McCarthy, RPA
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alasdair Brooks
> Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 9:51 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Paul Courtney
> 
> Many HISTARCH members will be familiar with Paul Courtney, who has been a regular contributor to this list over the years.  Paul received an SHA Award of Merit this past January for his contributions to post-medieval/historical archaeology in the UK and Europe, and his encouragement of trans-Atlantic research links for our period.
> 
> Some of you may know that Paul has been battling cancer for some months; it's with sadness that I pass on the news that Paul – who is at home in Leicester - has now slipped into a coma and is not expected to regain consciousness.  His father and brother are with him and his wife Yolanda.
> 
> With regret,
> 
> Alasdair Brooks