In donating the sum, Claude Duthuit has brought to three million Euros the total he has given to Turkish archaeology over the past 30 years.
Duthuit, 75, has been involved in Turkish excavations for five decades. He told Turkish media that he thinks the 'underwater ruins in Turkey are the most important ruins in the world?'. With his wife he spends most of the year in Bodrum, and says he regards Turkey as his second country.
Tufan Turanli, Director of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology in Bodrum, said: 'With his financial and moral support, Duthuit enabled us to discover many of our cultural riches and gain an important place in the world of archaeology.' Duthuit's continued support has meant that works will be accelerated, he said.
As a young man Duthuit fell in love with the sea and diving, and was at one time Jacques Cousteau's chief diver. As the grandson of French painter Henry Matisse, Duthuit is now the executive board chairman of the Matisse Foundation, which supports art groups and underwater archaeology in France. |
