|
Dr. Edgar J. Banks |
Dr. Ewa Wasilewska, the foremost expert on the life of Dr. Banks, refers to Dr. Banks as “one of the most under-recognized and important archeologists of our time.” The researcher has spent many years uncovering the explorer’s multi-faceted life, which includes explorations that placed him as the first to climb the two summits of Mt. Ararat in search of Noah’s Ark and the first Westerner to cross all the deserts from Turkey to Yemen on camelback in one year. Later in his life, Banks brought his family to Eustis, launched a film company, and became an orange grove owner. Dr. Wasilewska is currently writing a book on his life but a publication date has not yet been set.
Was he the inspiration for that famous fictional archeologist? We don’t know, but it IS undeniable that few people realize that this brave adventurer retired to Eustis in 1921 and resided in Lake County for 24 years.
Dr. Banks lectured each year from 1907 to 1919 at the University of Notre Dame. During these lectures, he spoke about his archaeological travels around the world.
Museums across the country have benefited from the efforts of Dr. Banks. He sold the University of Notre Dame a Marad cylinder inscription – “a royal building inscription cylinder of Nebuchadnezzar II (605-565 BCE) relating to the Lugal-Marada temple in the ancient city of Marad, near the modern-day Iraqi city of Wannet es-Sa’adun” – this according to the University’s Rare Books and Special Collections website.
