1955 in archaeology explained

The year 1955 in archaeology involved some significant events.

Explorations

• Thor Heyerdahl organizes the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island (continues to 1956).
• Start of extensive discoveries at the Anglo-Saxon cemetery on Loveden Hill in Lincolnshire, England.

Excavations

• September - Gustav Riek begins systematic excavations at Brillenhöhle (continues to 1963).
• A. C. O'Dell begins excavations on St Ninian's Isle (continues to 1958).
• Alexander Sahinian begins excavations at Etchmiadzin Cathedral in Armenia (continues to 1956).
• A. Ledyard Smith makes the first archaeological investigation of the Mayan site of Chutixtiox in Guatemala.
• Archaeological Survey of India begins excavations at Nagda chalcolithic site (continues to 1957).
• A Hebrew University team led by Yigal Yadin begins excavations at Tel Hazor (continues to 1958).
• Excavation of Qujialing culture type site in China begins (continues to 1957).

Publications

• Cyril Fox - Offa's Dyke: a Field Survey of the Western Frontier Works of Mercia in the Seventh and Eighth Centuries AD.^[1]
• Ivan D. Margary - Roman Roads in Britain, vol. 1.
• I. A. Richmond - Roman Britain (Penguin Books).

Finds

• May 19 - Greenock Coin Hoard in Scotland.
• Pesse canoe, the oldest known boat, in the Netherlands.
• First remains of Paranthropus boisei — teeth of Olduvai Hominin (OH) 3 — unearthed in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.^[2]

Miscellaneous

• October - The term "Industrial archaeology" is popularised.^[3]

Births

• January 1 - Mary Beard, English Classicist.
• April 20 - Svante Pääbo, Swedish paleogeneticist.
• September 30 - Martin Millett, English Classical archaeologist.

Deaths

• January 1 - Arthur C. Parker, part-Seneca American archaeologist and ethnographer of Native Americans in the United States (b. 1881).
• March 31 - Thomas Dunbabin, Australian-born Classical archaeologist and Greek Resistance leader (b. 1911).
• August 17 - Edward Thurlow Leeds, English archaeologist of the Anglo-Saxons (b. 1877).^[4]
• October 29 - Alexander Keiller, British archaeologist and benefactor (b. 1889).^[5]
• December 15 - V. E. Nash-Williams, Welsh archaeologist (b. 1897).^[6]
• December 25 - Thomas J. Preston, Jr., American archaeologist (b. 1862).

Notes and References

1. Web site: Offa's Dyke: A Field Survey of the Western Frontier-Works of Mercia in the Seventh and Eighth Centuries A.D.. British Academy. 3 June 2017.
2. Book: Tobias, P. V.. Phillip V. Tobias. 2006. Homo habilis—A Premature Discovery: Remembered by One of Its Founding Fathers, 42 Years Later. The First Humans – Origin and Early Evolution of the Genus Homo. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer. Dordrecht. 7–15. 978-1-4020-9980-9. 10.1007/978-1-4020-9980-9_2.
3. Michael. Rix. Michael Rix (academic). Industrial Archaeology. The Amateur Historian. U.K.. 2. 8. October 1955. 225–9.
4. Web site: Papers of Edward Thurlow Leeds. nationalarchives.gov.uk. 25 May 2017.
5. Web site: Keiller, Alexander (1889-1955), businessman and archaeologist. nationalarchives.gov.uk. 27 May 2017.
6. Web site: Nash-Williams, Victor Erle. The National Library of Wales - Dictionary of Welsh Biography. 13 November 2017.