Fr Alexis Mallon SJ

Born in 1875 in France, Alexis Mallon joined the Society of Jesus at eighteen. He did his novitiate in Lebanon, where he remained for university studies, first in languages, then in philosophy. During his regency, Mallon taught Coptic at the Oriental Faculty of the St Joseph University in Beirut. In 1905 he moved to England for four years of studies in theology. In 1909 he returned to Beirut to teach Egyptian and Coptic, remaining for only one year before being called to the newly instituted Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome to teach the same subjects.

In 1913 Mallon was entrusted with the project of setting up a branch of the Institute in Jerusalem, a project interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War. In the meantime, Mallon continued his research and study, particularly in archaeology and prehistory with Fr Bovier-Lapierre. Following the end of the war, Mallon could continue to pursue the project of the branch in Jerusalem, finally brought to fruition with the new house built between 1925 and 1927. Mallon also organised various caravans – study visits to the Near East for the students of the Institute.

With the house in Jerusalem finally in place, Mallon could turn his attention to a further major project. In 1929 Mallon started the excavations at Teleilat Ghassul, which he led until 1934, when he died — quite suddenly — from complications resulting from malaria.

Bibliography

Books

• [1904] Grammaire copte avec bibliographie, chrestomathie et vocabulaire. Beyrouth.
• [1921] Les Hébreux en Egypte. 213 pp. Orientalia 3, Roma.
• [1924] Tutankhamon, son tombeau, son siècle. Conférence faite à l’Institut Biblique Pontifical. 36 pp. Roma: Pontifical Biblical Institute.
• [1934, posthumously] with R. Koeppel and R. Neuville, Teleilāt Ghassul I. Compte rendu des fouilles de l’Institut Biblique Pontifical 1929–1932. xviii + 193 pp. + 72 plates. Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute.

Papers and articles

• [1904] “Les Théotokies ou Office de la Sainte Vierge dans le rite copte”, Revue de l’Orient Chrétien 9, 17–31
• [1905] “Documents de source copte sur la Sainte Vierge”, Revue de l’Orient Chrétien 10, 182–197, 251–258
• [1905] “Notes de philologie copte”, Recueil de travaux relatifs à la philologie et à l’archéologie égyptiennes et assyriennes 27, 151–156
• [1905] “Nouvelle inscription copte de Philae”, Annales du service des antiquités de l’Égypte 6, 107–11
• [1906–1907] “Une école de savants égyptiens au Moyen âge”, Mélanges de la Faculté orientale I, 109–131; II, 213–264
• [1907] “Un manuscrit du psautier copte-bohairique”, Revue Biblique N.S. 4, 557–559
• [1910] “Catalogue des Scalae coptes de la Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris”, Mélanges de la Faculté orientale IV, 57–90
• [1911] “Egypte”, Dictionnaire apologétique de la foi catholique 1, 1301–1343
• [1912] “Coptica”, Mélanges de la Faculté orientale V/2, 121∗–134∗
• [1912] “La Religion des Égyptiens”, in Christus (ed. Huby) 1912, 2 (1916) 604–687
• [1913] “La Religione dell’Egitto”, in Martindale, Storia delle religioni I, 261–293 (translated from English)
• [1914] “Épigraphie copte”, Dictionnaire d’Archéologie Chrétienne et de Liturgie 3, 2819–2886
• [1914] “Bulletin d’Histoire de la Religion Égyptienne”, Recherches de Science Religieuse 5, 184–200
• [1920–1932] Updates on archaeological work in Palestine, the result of Mallon’s visits and conversations with archaeologists: Biblica 1 (1920) 423–425; 2 (1921) 133–138, 268–271, 394–399, 507–510; 3 (1922) 269–272; 4 (1923) 236–240; 7 (1926) 106–118, 342–350, 460–469; 8 (1927) 377–383, 489–493; 9 (1928) 245–256, 370–375; 10 (1929) 94–99, 126–128, 214–232, 369–375; 11 (1930) 472–477; 13 (1932) 104–106
• [1922] “Travaux hydrauliques Jérusalem”, Biblica 3, 396–398
• [1922] “Le sanctuaire byzantin de Beit Djemal”, Biblica 3, 502–507
• [1923] “Les découvertes de Luxor”, Études 174, 694–699
• [1924] “Flint Implements and Megalithic Monuments”, Bibliotheca Sacra 81, 271–275
• [1924] “Voyage d’exploration au sud-est de la Mer Morte”, Biblica 5, 413–455
• [1924] “Fouille à la ‘Cité de David’, au ‘tombeau d’Absalon’ et à Gézer”, Biblica 5, 225–229
• [1925] “Les fouilles anglaises à Jérusalem ancienne”, Biblica 6, 117–122
• [1925] “L’homme préhistorique en Palestine”, Biblica 6, 326–335
• [1925] “La Mer Rouge et l’Exode”, Biblica 6, 396–400
• [1925] “Quelques stations préhistoriques de Palestine” (with 8 plates), Mélanges de la Faculté orientale de Beyrouth 10, 181–214
• [1925] “Une hache égyptienne trouvée en Syrie”, Mélanges de la Faculté orientale de Beyrouth 10, 51–54
• [1925] “Les Hyksos et les Hébreux”, Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 5, 83–91
• [1926] “Le concile de Nicée copte”, Analecta Sacra Tarraconensia 2, 219–225
• [1927] “La ‘sagesse’ de l’égyptien Amen-em-opé et les Proverbes de Salomon”, Biblica 8, 3–30
• [1927] “Voyage de l’Inst. Biblique au Négeb. Note sur les silex”, Biblica 8, 245–252
• [1927] “Le Mur d’Agrippa”, Biblica 8, 123–128
• [1928] “Jérusalem et les documents égyptiens”, Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 8, 1–6
• [1929] “Notes sur quelques sites du Ghôr oriental”, Biblica 10, 94–99, 214–232
• [1930] “Le Baptistère de Sbeita”, Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 10, 227–229
• [1930] “L’origine égyptienne de l’alphabet phénicien”, Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale 30, 131–151
• [1930–1933] “Les fouilles de l’Institut Biblique Pontifical dans la vallée du Jourdain”, Biblica 11 (1930) 3–11, 129–148; 12 (1931) 257–270; 13 (1932) 278–283; 14 (1933) 294–302
• [1931] “Une église byzantine Mikhmas”, Biblica 12, 117–119
• [1931] “Notes sur le Ghôr”, Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 11, 55–62, 159–163
• [1931] with R. Neuville, “Les débuts de l’âge des métaux dans les grottes du désert de Judée”, Syria 12, 24–47
• [1932] “Les fouilles de l’Institut Biblique Pontifical dans la vallée du Jourdain”, Recherches de Science Religieuse 22, 409–436
• [1932] “Les fouilles de Teleilat Ghassul”, Syria 13, 334–344
• [1932] “Les places fortes du sud-est de la vallée du Jourdain au temps d’Abraham”, Biblica 13, 194–201
• [1932] “The Five Cities of the Plain (Gen. 14)”, Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement 64, 52–56
• [1932–33] “Les fouilles de Teleilat Ghassul en Transjordanie”, Bollettino dell’Associazione Internazionale Studi Mediterranei 3, 1–3
• [1932–33] “Cité de David”, Supplément au Dictionnaire de la Bible 2, 330–341
• [1933] “Les dernières phases de l’âge de la pierre et les premiers temps historiques en Palestine”, Biblica 14, 199–211
• [1933] “Deux forteresses au pied des monts de Moab”, Biblica 14, 400–407
• [1934] “Une nouvelle peinture murale trouvée dans les fouilles de Teleilāt Ghassūl”, Biblica 15, 1–7