Elizabeth (Liz) Anderson died at home in Cork early on the morning of Saturday 22 February. Since last summer Liz was battling cancer and at first we all hoped that she would win through. By the beginning of the year, however, her friends and family began to realise that Liz's health was gradually failing. However the sudden deterioration over the last two weeks of her life took everyone by surprise, so much so that the full realisation of her untimely death at the age of 35 will not really be accepted for some time to come.
Liz graduated from UCC in 1984 with an Honours BA in Archaeology and Greek and Roman Civilization. She went on to carry out research, teach and eventually take up a position as a Lecturer in Archaeology. She will always be associated with stone tools and with a special love for the Mesolithic. As a second year student she took an interest in the Mesolithic and that same year she was first introduced to Ferriter's Cove when she spent time, along with other members of her class, writing numbers on weird bits of rock. For the next 14 years, Ferriter's Cove was to remain a special place for Liz. Until last year anything Mesolithic that UCC was involved in, Liz was in the thick of it and this culminated in her own excavations at Kilcummer, Co. Cork. Her work was not confined to Ireland as she worked on excavations in the Isle of Man and Scotland and had contacts with colleagues in Britain, Denmark and Sweden.
However Liz was much more than a 'lithics person'. She was one of those very special people who get things done without any fuss. On excavations with Liz one always knew that things would happen when they were supposed to. Because of this attribute she was occasionally inveigled into working on sites as late as the Bronze Age! In a generation of specialists Liz had a remarkable ability to do many things: run excavations, draw objects and use the graphics facilities of computers. She also worked for the Co. Cork Archaeological Survey both as field archaeologist and on the team which took on the daunting task of preparing inventory texts for publication. Her expertise in this area led to her working as a project assistant for the Discovery Programme, again helping to turn the ambitions of excavators in the field into reports which were actually readable.
Because of her ability to 'get things done' many of us trooped up to her office looking for help with a text or a diagram. Liz was always able to come up trumps with either a flawless diagram or a text incisively dissected, reorganised and put back together again, and in certain cases the texts really needed her help! There was no limit to her generosity and no quid pro quo. Even as she shredded your text or questioned your assumptions it was a pleasure to be with her. Although usually quiet and unassuming in company Liz always helped brighten the world for those close to her in the office or on excavations.
Liz has left a real contribution to Irish archaeology in her own research, in the support and help she gave others and in the pleasure of her company. A companion on many journeys, from Edinburgh to Dingle and numerous byways in Munster; a Fellow Traveller across numerous wet ploughed fields in Cork as well as a sharer of coffee on benches, stone ditches and under hedges from the top of the Antrim Plateau to the coast of East Cork. The memory of Liz, wrapped up with her headphones on heading out across a ploughed field or towards Doon Point, will always be there.
Our world is diminished and will be poorer without her.
P.W.