1890 in archaeology

Explorations

• Alfred Maudslay begins his documentation of the Maya ruins of Palenque.

Excavations

• Arthur Evans excavates a Belgae cemetery site at Aylesford.
• J.R. Mortimer begins excavations at Duggleby Howe.
• The Society of Antiquaries of London begins its excavations of Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester Roman Town).
• Merv.
• Flinders Petrie excavates at Tell el-Hesi, Palestine (mistakenly identified as Lachish), the first scientific excavation of an archaeological site in the Holy Land, during which he discovers how tells are formed.

Finds

• Saltley handaxe excavated in Birmingham, the first paleolithic human artefact found in The Midlands of England.
• Hermes Criophorus statue found in Troezen, Greece.

Births

• April 21: Benno Landsberger, German Assyriologist (d. 1968)
• September 10: Mortimer Wheeler, British archaeologist (d. 1976)

Deaths

• July 14: John Clayton, English antiquarian (b. 1792)
• August 2: Charles Roach Smith, British archaeologist; co-founder of the British Archaeological Association (b. 1807)
• October 28: Jean Baptiste Holzmayer, German archaeologist (b. 1839)
• December 26: Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist, excavator of Troy (b. 1822)

References

References

1. (2006). "A history of archaeological research in the Trent Valley". Trent Valley Palaeolithic Project.
2. "Studies in honor of Benno Landsberger on his seventy-fifth birthday, April 21, 1965".
3. "Mortimer Wheeler".
4. "Heinrich Schliemann - German archaeologist".