1996 in archaeology explained

The year 1996 in archaeology involved some significant events.

Explorations

• Preliminary survey of Buckton Castle in the north west of England.

Excavations

• Large-scale, wide-scope horizontal excavations begin at Daepyeong, a large Mumun Pottery Period settlement in Korea (continued until early 2000).
• Excavations near Bogazköy by the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft begin (continued until 1999).
• Excavation of the Portuguese nau Nossa Senhora dos Mártires (1605–06) at the mouth of the Tagus begins (continued until 2001).
• First excavation of medieval drain at Paisley Abbey in Scotland.

Publications

• Matthew Johnson - An Archaeology of Capitalism (Blackwell).
• Denise Schmandt-Besserat - How Writing Came About (University of Texas Press).
• Rita P. Wright (ed.) - Gender and Archaeology (University of Pennsylvania Press).
• First issue of e-journal Internet Archaeology.

Finds

• July: Mass grave of victims of the Battle of Towton (1461) in England.
• July 28: Kennewick Man in the United States.
• August 4: Seaton Carew Wreck in England.
• November 21: Pirate flagship Queen Anne's Revenge (run aground 1718) in North Carolina.
• Herxheim archaeological site, a Neolithic Linear Pottery culture ritual center and mass grave at Herxheim in southwest Germany.
• The Keltenfürst (Celtic prince) of Glauberg in Germany, a life-size sandstone statue of a warrior dating from the 5th century BCE.^[1]
• Ekron Royal Dedicatory Inscription in Israel.
• Lod Mosaic in Israel.
• Croatian Apoxyomenos off the Croatian islet of Vele Orjule.
• Hermes of Messene in Messene, Greece.
• Ōfune Site, one of the Jōmon Archaeological Sites in Hokkaidō, Japan.
• "Great Dover Street woman" from Roman Britain in London.^[2]
• Polychrome wall paintings (dated to 1090) at church of St Mary the Virgin in the deserted village of Houghton on the Hill, Norfolk, England.^[3]

Events

• Yale University Bonampak Documentation Project begins at Maya site of Bonampak.
• November 2: Sendai City Tomizawa Site Museum opens in Japan.

Deaths

• January 17- William Lamplough, British archaeologist (b. 1914).
• March 18 - Jacquetta Hawkes, British archaeologist (b. 1910).^[4]
• September 23 - Stuart Piggott, British archaeologist (b. 1910).^[5]
• November 14 - Martyn Jope, British archaeologist and biochemist (b. 1915).
• December 9 - Mary Leakey, British archaeologist and anthropologist (b. 1913).

Notes and References

1. F.-M.. Bosinski. F.-R.. Herrmann. Zu den frühkeltischen Statuen vom Glauberg. Ber. Komm. Arch. Landesforsch. Hessen. 5, 1998/99. 2000. 41–48.
2. News: Archaeologists May Have Found Woman Gladiator's Grave. 2000-09-13. The New York Times. 2021-09-02.
3. Web site: The Wall Paintings. St Mary's Church. 2021-04-04.
4. Web site: Obituary: Jacquetta Hawkes. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-jacquetta-hawkes-1343032.html . 2022-05-01 . subscription. The Independent. 30 May 2017. 20 March 1996.
5. Web site: Obituary: Professor Stuart Piggott. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-professor-stuart-piggott-1365215.html . 2022-05-01 . subscription. The Independent. 30 May 2017. 27 September 1996.