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A space to contribute memories of Chris, and thoughts and condolences for his family and friends.

Mis profundas condolencias a la familia del Prof. Tilley por su partida, un investigador al que admiré mucho. En Bolivia fue muy conocida su producción; personalmente debo decir que Fenomenología del Paisaje, un libro que leí cuando era estudiante, cambió totalmente mi visión sobre la arquelogía.Ìý
Deseo que el nuevo camino que su espíritu transita sea muy luminoso, ya que todo lo que hizo en vida quedará como un gran legado para quienes conozcan su obra.
Hasta siempre Prof. Tilley!!

Pilar Lima Torrez,ÌýSociedad de Investigación del Arte Rupestre de Bolivia (SIARB)Ìý

“

I was extremely fortunate to have participated in Chris' Anthropology of Landscapes module back in 2021 before his passing.Ìý

Chris' teaching was nothing short of engaging (and often hilarious), and his ways of viewing landscapes through phenomena had transformed the way I perceived my surroundings, teaching me to notice and appreciate even the smallest details around me: even during the height of the covid pandemic when we were all stuck indoors.Ìý

His class had made a huge impact on my current career path where I now actively work with the same concepts of landscapes in heritage, and I would not have arrived at this point without him.

My deepest condolences to his friends and family, may he rest in peace.Ìý

I was extremely fortunate to have participated in Chris' Anthropology of Landscapes module back in 2021 before his passing.Ìý

Chris' teaching was nothing short of engaging (and often hilarious), and his ways of viewing landscapes through phenomena had transformed the way I perceived my surroundings, teaching me to notice and appreciate even the smallest details around me: even during the height of the covid pandemic when we were all stuck indoors.Ìý

His class had made a huge impact on my current career path where I now actively work with the same concepts of landscapes in heritage, and I would not have arrived at this point without him.Ìý

My deepest condolences to his friends and family, may he rest in peace.

Summer, UCL

Ìý

I met Chris Tilley a few times and appreciated his words of encouragement and support. I was at SOAS Ìýthen, at the end of the 1990s. I have always been a great admirer of the work he did with Michael Shanks, and his Phenomenology of Landscape had a great impact on me and my subsequent research. I have only just found out about his passing; I offer my deepest condolences to his loved ones. RIP, Chris Tilley and thank you!

Alessandra Lopez y RoyoÌý

I was deeply saddened to hear of Chris Tilley's passing.ÌýÌýI took a class in archaeological theory from him at UCL while an American semester-abroad student in spring 1987. ÌýAt that point, I was a sociocultural anthropology student who had turned away from archaeology due to a poor experience during field school, and I will admit that I only took Chris's class because it was the only one that fit into my schedule!

Chris definitely rekindled my interest in archaeology and opened my eyes to a whole new world of theory. ÌýI believe that we read a manuscript version of the "Red Book" which proved to be really foundational to my understanding of how past and present work.

With Chris's important teachings under my belt, I eventually turned fully back to archaeology. ÌýI took a course with Mark Leone at the University of Maryland, remembering how I had appreciated Leone's work assigned on Chris's syllabus. I eventually attended a Ph.D. program at Columbia University, and I am currently Full Professor in the Anthropology Department and American Indian/Indigenous Studies at Cornell University in Ithaca NY USA.

My life would not have taken the course it did without Chris's influence. ÌýI am grateful, and I mourn his passing.

Kurt Jordan, Cornell University

“Chris definitely changed my life. His teaching, his writing, let alone his kind support to me as a junior colleague, are all targets I hope to one day to live up to. I have got so many stories myself, but one of the biggest compliments I could pay to Chris are the number of messages and stories that I received from ex-students of his after having announced his recent passing on my Instagram. They were all incredibly heart-warming, and many incredibly *funny*. See a selection of them below. Chris, thank you for everything!

"iÌýremember his class so fondly. during one of the classes, he passed around a bucket of pebbles and insisted we all pick one out and feel it. every lecture had a different story about exploring stonehenge, climbing over fences and going off piste, trekking through the mud and the rain. being out in the world. also i will never ever forget that he had all of those lectures memorised! just two hours of gold, no lecture notes only images on the slides."

"He was the kindest soul, he introduced me to so many complex ideas and schools of thought in such a casual, gentle and profound manner. I remember he was so surprised after one lecture on Structuralism that I went up to him and told him it was the most phenomenal thing I'd heard. And so unpretentious! He was so invested in the smallest and most seemingly banal things. His seminar on pebbles!! That was the best seminar of my life. He'd never use slides but would pass around a book on cezanne or some stones. He presented ethnographic case studies as stories. He was such a good storyteller, he never rushed, sometimes he'd be telling a story for an hour and it seemed like it was about nothing but actually it contained everything. When he took us to Stone Henge and we ate sandwiches wrapped in tinfoil in a ditch. Everything about Chris was so inspiring, and he'd probably find that utterly baffling. I'm so very sad."

"The world is a poorer place to have lost Chris. His social construction of landscapes module was then and still is today one of my favourite university experiences. It changed the way I understand and interact with the world, and is one of my core inspirations for my art making today."

"My favourite part of his class was when he described kayaking along a river to follow some ancient route to Stonehenge, and had to climb onto the bank to get over a weir. Some security guards approached him and told him to get off private land which belonged to the rock star Sting, to which Chris explained to them that he had never heard of him."

"As I said to one mv MA material culture classmate when she told me the news, the world needs more quietly contemplative people like Chris, who care about the small things as much as the big ones. Since hearing of his passing I've been thinking a lot about what a role model looks like in these times... probably a lot more like Chris than many of those pitching themselves as 'leaders' today. Thanks for sharing these beautiful quotes from his work.. I'm going to start re-reading it."

"Abi reminded me of our trip to Stonehenge with him where we approached the stones the traditional way, rather than through the centre that was built there. Security guards were blowing whistles at about 30 of us as we climbed over a rope or fence and Chris just told us to ignore them. And then we were all thrown out. He was so unimpressed by the whole thing, can picture the expression perfectly."

Rafael Schacter, UCL

“I taught the second-year theory course, ANTH2006 ÌýIntroduction to Theoretical Perspectives in Social Anthropology and Material Culture, with Chris for ten years between 2006 and 2016. That is a long partnership. And we were teaching one of the few mandatory modules in the second year. Prior to that, we had co-supervised a very successful doctoral dissertation (by Eleana Yalouri).

First of all, Chris was a great teacher and I know that firsthand because we would each deliver a portion of the first lecture. Chris generally spoke without any notes and every year he told the students, in his quiet and mesmerising voice, how our intention on the module was nothing less than 'to blow your mind'. Students were enthralled. When student evaluations came in at the end of the year they were always stellar, especially for Chris. Perennially students' favourite weekly topic was the one on 'Phenomenology' that he taught. He was an outstanding, naturally talented teacher.

Chris and I developed an excellent collegial partnership, which turned into a personal friendship. He started to come over for to my flat for dinner every year in May after we had finished our marking. Deena and I got to know what a wonderful and gentle soul he was. He really expanded in our living room.

Chris's death came as a huge shock. I miss him.

Charles Stewart, UCL

“I met Chris, like many, as a student at UCL. He changed the way I think and inspired me to continue my research towards a PhD.Ìý

He provided great challenge and support, as he was my external examiner on my PhD. Later we walked areas of London exploring the city and had a view pints together and these discussions later become chapters of one of his books. I recall these times with great affection.

He was a kind, generous, insightful, and wonderful man. A great loss.Ìý

Dave

“Very sorry to hear about Chris. I always found his work on landscape distinctive and interesting and enjoyed my meetings with him. He contributed a wonderful chapter to a book I co-edited.

Andrew Whitehouse, University of Aberdeen

“After being a colleague for the best part of 20 (or is it 30?) years, I have many treasured memories of Chris. However, the one that keeps returning is of him turning up to give the opening lecture of the Second Year Theory course that I was teaching with him. He came in, greeted the students and, without any slides or notes, delivered the perfect lecture on the subject of what theory in material culture was and wouldn't be. I'm sure that he'd given that very same lecture many times before, but he delivered it with a freshness and fluency that earned him the rapt attention of the Second Year students whilst he was in full flow, and their applause when he finished, as if it was a command performance. Which it was. I've always thought since then how Chris would have earned very little for 'teaching innovation' but would have been right off the scale for inspiring his students. Much love Chris. Carry on lecturing.

Allen Abramson, UCL

“I was always in awe of how Chris inspired his students, so many of them telling me over the years how much they loved his landscape course. We didn't know each other very well but whenever we talked I came away enriched by Chris' profound insights, and his perspicuity about the state of academia. He will be hugely missed as a colleague, a teacher and as an inspiring thinker.

Hannah Knox, UCL

“I did not know Chris well at all but had and have a great deal of respect for him, his work and his general way of being in the department. Students loved being taught by him and I know he was inspirational to many. I am so sorry for the loss his family must be feeling.

Tone Walford, UCL

“I knew Chris before I knew him in person. As someone who studied geography, landscape, the body and belonging Chris wrote the foundational texts for my thinking. He wrote a lot of himself into his work. The first ever talk I came to when I started my PhD studies at UCL was one of his. The opening line was 'in many ways, pebbles are like people'. I thought 'What nonsense'. By the end of the talk, I was convinced he was right and I had totally overlooked the humble pebble in my understanding of landscape. He was captivating as a lecturer. Simple, deep and on point. When I helped teach his course I had to second mark his essays. I remember thinking if he says it's a 70 then it is, what do I know? His comments were always supportive of a student, if direct and his marks generous. He made me laugh with his bluntness. We worked on developing a project on parks together but we never got it funded, I still think about that, and how his thinking and approach have thoroughly shaped mine. He'll always stay with me in that way. I'll miss him, all my best to his family.

Jeeva, UCL

“I joined the department a year before Chris' retirement. Having loved his work for many years, I sat in the back seats of the lectures he gave for the MVC core course, only for the joy of hearing one of my intellectual role models. What I witnessed was nothing short of incredible! Without slides or artifice, he explained complicated concepts in such a simple and compelling way, that you could hear people blink. He was such a soft and thoughtful person, and I'm honoured to have had the chance to meet him. My warmest wishes to his children: I am very sorry for your loss.

Maria Salaru, UCL

“In sending my condolences, I would like to share several memories of Professor Tilley. Chris taught me as an undergraduate student at Õ¬ÄÐÊÓƵ in 2004-07. During the degree, I took his inspiring (and perennially popular) course Social Construction of Landscapes. I wrote an essay about gardens and gardening in Amazonia, which in many ways prefigured my later PhD and academic research working with indigenous communities on people-plant relationships in the Amazon rainforest. I often looked back to that essay - and Chris's inspiring teaching - as a seed or starting point for my own intellectual and academic journey. Another indelible memory - in 2007, Chris took us on his annual field-trip to Stone Henge. At the end of the day, as we walked up the ancient pilgrimage route towards the henge in the late afternoon sun, it started to rain. A double rainbow appeared, perfectly arching over the henge. It was a magical (almost supernatural) moment, and a very special way to conclude our undergraduate degree. I later became Chris's colleague, and was able to share these memories with him upon his retirement. He remembered the double rainbow, saying he "never saw one like that before or since."

Lewis Daly, UCL

“Walking the coast path through Branscombe.

Adam Drazin, UCL