1845 in archaeology

The year 1845 in archaeology involved some significant events.

Events

• February 7: In the British Museum, a drunken visitor smashes the Portland Vase which takes months to repair.^[1]

Explorations

• E. G. Squier and E. H. Davis begin one of the first American scientific archaeological studies, exploring the remains of the prehistoric mound builders of Ohio, leading to the publication of the landmark Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley three years later.

Excavations

• Austen Henry Layard begins excavating the Assyrian sites of Nimrud and Nineveh, lasting until 1851.
• L. K. Ivanovsky begins excavating burial mounds near Novgorod, ending in 1892.
• Early excavation work at Ephesus

Finds

• Austen Henry Layard finds first group of Nimrud ivories.
• The existence of the Lycurgus cup, a piece of glassware demonstrating 4th century AD Roman technology, is reported.
• Viking-age hoard of English coins dating to around 927 found near Bangor Cathedral in Wales.
• Approximate date: When the Rhine is blasted near Bingen am Rhein to deepen and remove rocks, Roman-era iron weapons are dredged from the river bed.^[2]

Publications

• Jean-François Champollion's Monuments de l'Égypte et de la Nubie is published posthumously.

Births

• March 20: Lucy Wright Mitchell
• June 16: Heinrich Dressel
• August 25: Ernest Volk

See also

• Ancient Egypt / Egyptology

References