1955 in archaeology

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. ^[1]

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. ^[2]
• 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. ^[3]

Miscellaneous

• October - The term "Industrial archaeology" is popularised. ^[4]

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). ^[5]
• October 29 - Alexander Keiller, British archaeologist and benefactor (b. 1889). ^[6]
• December 15 - V. E. Nash-Williams, Welsh archaeologist (b. 1897). ^[7]
• December 25 - Thomas J. Preston, Jr., American archaeologist (b. 1862).

References

1. Historic England (2015). "Monument No. 325833". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 2019-07-01.
2. "Offa's Dyke: A Field Survey of the Western Frontier-Works of Mercia in the Seventh and Eighth Centuries A.D." British Academy. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
3. Tobias, P. V. (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. Dordrecht: Springer. pp. 7–15. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-9980-9_2. ISBN   978-1-4020-9980-9.
4. Rix, Michael (October 1955). "Industrial Archaeology". The Amateur Historian. 2 (8). U.K.: 225–9.
5. "Papers of Edward Thurlow Leeds". nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
6. "Keiller, Alexander (1889-1955), businessman and archaeologist". nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
7. "Nash-Williams, Victor Erle". The National Library of Wales - Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 13 November 2017.