the elderly, which Duncan then was, or some combination, Joan adds that he died in 1935 in a state of "mental aberration." Whatever they were, none of the final events can have been any surprise at all to Arthur, least of all any implication that Duncan was leading some sort of unknown alcoholic life until discovered suddenly one day lying in a stupor on a table. Long after the deaths of both men, after the decipherment of Linear B, attempts were made to insert an imaginary opposition and conflict between the two over the date of the Linear B tablets, which, in the slander, caused Arthur to discredit Duncan with malice aforethought and hustle him off the scene. During the lives of the two men is no indication at all in their writings of any such disagreement; moreover, Evans was of a highly charitable character, nor has the veracity of either man ever been questioned during his lifetime, as was Heinrich Schliemann's (from which he was vindicated). Post-mortem dispute After Mackenzie's death in Italy, some of Evans' system of Minoan dating came into question. Mackenzie's meticulous work was the key witness in defence of Evans' work. Though there was conflict between Evans and Mackenzie, Evans respected Mackenzie for his contributions to the excavation and paid tribute to his right-hand man in the last volume of The Palace of Minos. See also Linear B Mycenaean pottery Notes References External links Scottish archaeologists People from Ross and Cromarty Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 1861 births 1934 deaths