1853 in archaeology explained

Below are notable events in archaeology that occurred in 1853.

Explorations

• Alexander Cunningham examines and describes the ruins at Harappa in the Punjab
• John Thurnam begins investigating tumuli around Knap Hill in Wiltshire, England

Finds

• Hormuzd Rassam excavates the clay tablets which will be deciphered as Epic of Gilgamesh
• Winter 1853–54 – Archaeologist Ferdinand Keller identifies the remains of the Meilen–Rorenhaab site, first of the prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zurich to be located.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Births

• June 3 – Flinders Petrie, English Egyptologist (d. 1942)
• December 26 – Wilhelm Dörpfeld, German architect and archaeologist (d. 1940)^[4]

Deaths

• June 8 – Howard Vyse, English soldier and Egyptologist (b. 1784)
• Charles Masson, British explorer of Buddhist sites (b. 1800)

See also

• List of years in archaeology
• 1852 in archaeology
• 1854 in archaeology

Notes and References

1. Ferdinand. Keller. Die keltischen Pfahlbauten in den Schweizerseen. 1. Mittheilungen der Antiquarischen Gesellschaft in Zürich. 1854.
2. Keller, Ferdinand.
3. Web site: Sites Switzerland: Meilen-Rorenhaab (CH-ZH-09). palafittes.org. 2014-12-10. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141007220441/http://www.palafittes.org/en/unesco-world-heritage/sites-switzerland/index.html. 2014-10-07.
4. Web site: Wilhelm Dorpfeld - German archaeologist. Encyclopedia Britannica. 28 May 2017. en.