1939 in archaeology explained

Below are notable events in archaeology that occurred in 1939.

Excavations

• Major excavation of Ostia Antica in Italy begins (continues to 1942).
• University of Pennsylvania project at Piedras Negras, Guatemala ends (started 1931).
• Palace of Nestor in Pylos by Carl Blegen (resumed 1952-69).
• Tomb of Psusennes at Tanis by Pierre Montet (started 1928).
• Deserted medieval village of Seacourt near Oxford by Rupert Bruce-Mitford (June - July 15).^[1]
• Medieval settlement at Bere, North Tawton, England, by Martyn Jope.^[2]
• Bowl barrow at Knap Hill, Wiltshire, England, by C. W. Phillips.

Publications

• Grahame Clark

Archaeology and Society.

Finds

• May
  • Sutton Hoo ship burial unearthed by Basil Brown and Edith Pretty in Suffolk, England. On July 28 the Sutton Hoo helmet is excavated.
  • Battle of Thermopylae site unearthed by Spyridon Marinatos in Greece.^[3]
• August 25: The Lion-man statue is discovered in the Hohlenstein-Stadel, a cave in southern Germany.^[4]
• Matthew Stirling discovers the bottom half of Stela C at Tres Zapotes in Veracruz, Mexico.
• Wyllys Andrews discovers the Maya civilization site of Kulubá in Yucatán, Mexico.^[5]

Miscellaneous

• May 6: Dorothy Garrod is elected to the Disney Professorship of Archaeology in the University of Cambridge, the first woman to hold an Oxbridge chair.

Births

• January 15: Neil Cossons, English industrial archaeologist and museum director
• July 12: Peter Addyman, English archaeologist
• November 6: Peter J. Reynolds, English experimental archaeologist (d. 2001)^[6]
• December 10: Barry Cunliffe, English archaeologist
• November 27: Malcolm Todd, English archaeologist (d. 2013)

Deaths

• March 2: Howard Carter, English Egyptologist (b. 1874)^[7]

Notes and References

1. Bruce-Mitford. R. L. S.. 1940. The Excavations at Seacourt, Berks., 1939: an interim report. Oxoniensia. Oxford Architectural and Historical Society. V. 31–42.
2. E. M.. Jope. R. I.. Threlfall. Excavation of a medieval settlement at Bere, North Tawton, Devon. Medieval Archaeology. 2. 1958. 112–140. 10.1080/00766097.1958.11735476 .
3. Book: Hamilakis, Yannis. 2007. The Nation and Its Ruins: Antiquity, Archaeology, and National Imagination in Greece. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-923038-9. 169.
4. Web site: The Lion Man: an Ice Age masterpiece. The British Museum Blog. 12 February 2018. 10 October 2017.
5. Web site: Kulubá Maya ruins are being restored to their ancient splendor. 2019-06-15. El Universal. Mexico City. 2019-12-27.
6. Web site: Aston. Mick. Peter Reynolds. The Guardian. London. 24 May 2017. 5 October 2001.
7. Web site: Howard Carter - British archaeologist. Encyclopedia Britannica. 31 May 2017. en.