1750s in archaeology

The decade of the 1750s in archaeology involved some significant events.

Explorations

• 1757: Robert Adam surveys the ruins of Diocletian's Palace at Spalato in Dalmatia.

Excavations

• 1755: At Bath, England, when the Priory or Abbey house is demolished and the foundations are cleared, stone coffins, bones of various animals, and other things are found.^[1] Upon digging further, hot mineral waters gush forth and interrupt the work: the old Roman sewer had been found, and the water is drained off. Foundations of regular buildings are traced^[1] leading to excavation of a great bath, afterwards called Lucas's Bath, when the eastern wall of the great Hall is opened.^[1]
• 1757: Rev. Bryan Faussett begins excavating Anglo-Saxon cemeteries in Kent, England (continues to 1773).^[2]
• Formal excavations continue at Pompeii.

Finds

• 1754: A hoard of about 207 Roman gold coins (and one silver coin) are discovered at Menzelen just outside Xanten on the lower Rhine.
• 1755: Several sepulchral inscriptions and figures, in bas-relief, are discovered at Bonn in Lower Germany.

Publications

• 1753: Robert Wood's The ruins of Palmyra; otherwise Tedmor in the desart published in English and French.
• 1755: Frederic Louis Norden's Voyage d'Egypte et de Nubie published posthumously in Copenhagen.
• 1757: Robert Wood's The ruins of Balbec, otherwise Heliopolis in Coelosyria published in English and French.

Other events

• 1751: The Society of Antiquaries of London receives its Royal charter.

Births

• 1754: William Cunnington, pioneering English antiquarian and archaeologist of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century (d. 1810).
• 1755: May 16 - Honoré Flaugergues, French astronomer and archaeologist (d. 1830 or 1835).
• 1758: December 9 - Richard Colt Hoare, English antiquarian and archaeologist (d. 1838).^[3]

Deaths

• 1755: February 11 - Francesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei, Italian archaeologist (b. 1675).^[4]

Notes

1. 1 2 3 "The Excavations of Roman Baths at Bath" (E-text), Charles E. Davis, 2004-10-02, Project Gutenberg, eBook #13582, webpage: G5828.
2. ↑ Webster, Leslie (1986). "Anglo-Saxon England AD 400–1100". In Longworth, Ian; Cherry, John. Archaeology in Britain since 1945. London: British Museum. p. 121. ISBN 0-7141-2035-9. 
3. ↑ "Sir Richard Colt Hoare 1758–1838". tate.org. Retrieved 9 June 2017. 
4. ↑ "Francesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei - Italian dramatist". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 10 June 2017.