Haroutune Kalayan

Graduate of American University of Beirut, Haroutune Kalayan (BSE ’46), who was born in 1908 in Aintab, died on December 21, 2003, at the age of 95. In 1915, after his older brother and father were massacred in the Armenian Genocide, he moved with his mother and brother to Aleppo, where he attended Aleppo College. He then came to the American University of Beirut, where he graduated with a BS in engineering.

In 1937, he married Berjouhie Shirajian and moved with her to Cyprus, where he taught at the Melkonian Educational Institute for a few years. After Lebanon gained its independence, he returned to Beirut and worked at the Lebanese Department of Antiquities and also taught part-time at AUB’s Faculty of Engineering and Architecture. He is known for his restoration of the ancient ruins in Lebanon and received the Said Akl Award for his work.

In 1978, he went to Jordan and worked with its Department of Antiquities until he retired in 1989. Shortly after his retirement, he moved to the United States to live with his children. He is well known in the archaeology community, and during his lifetime gave many lectures in the Middle East and Europe on the ancient sites he loved so much, among them Palmyra, Baalbeck, Anjar, Sidon, Byblos, Jerash, and Petra.

His two daughters, Alice Ispentchian and Shoushan Samman; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren survive him.