Christopher Arthur read Archaeology and Anthropology at Cambridge University and, back in the days of Good King Idris, did archaeological fieldwork in Cyrenaica when he traced the main water supply of ancient Ptolemais from its source to the city's cisterns …   

He followed this up as a member of a field survey of sites in Fezzan and later worked as a site supervisor for several seasons on a Byzantine excavation in Istanbul …   but he and Archaeology drew apart and he went into teaching – English literature to 'A' level and Art History (including some Russian history on the way). He has also produced a lot of plays – more than 30 productions – a number of which were his own creations.