1897 in archaeology
# 1897 in archaeology

Below are notable events in archaeology that occurred in 1897.

## Explorations

* Rudolf Ernst Brünnow and Alfred von Domaszewski begin a two-year expedition to the Arabian Peninsula, including Petra.

## Excavations

* Excavation of Glastonbury Lake Village by Arthur Bulleid and Harold St George Gray begins.
* Maud Cunnington carries out her first excavations in the Devizes area of England.
* Excavation of the first Mycenaean chamber tombs in Kolonaki at Thebes, Greece, by Dimitrios Filios.
* Excavation of Nekhen in Egypt begins (continues to 1899).
* Excavation of Susa in Iran by a French expedition led by Jacques de Morgan begins (continues to 1911).

## Finds

* May - Yde Girl, a bog body, is discovered in the village of Yde, The Netherlands.
* August 4 - The "Lady of Elche" Iberian sculpture (4th century BCE) is found at L'Alcúdia near Elche in Spain.
* Coligny calendar.
* Alekanovo inscription.
* Silver and gold tubes of the Maykop culture from a burial mound in Armenia, interpreted in 2022 as drinking straws for communal beer consumption.

## Events

* February 18 - Conclusion of the Benin Expedition of 1897, leading to the Benin Bronzes being carried off to London.

## Publications

* William Copeland Borlase - The Dolmens of Ireland: their distribution, structural characteristics, and affinities in other countries, together with the folklore attaching to them; supplemented by considerations on the anthropology, ethnology, and traditions of the Irish people (3 vols, London).

## Births

* June 1 - Yang Zhongjian, father of Chinese vertebrate paleontology (d. 1979).
* August 21 - Victor Erle Nash-Williams, Welsh archaeologist (d. 1955).
* October 30 - Einar Gjerstad, Swedish archaeologist of the ancient Mediterranean (d. 1988).

## Deaths

* May 5 - James Theodore Bent, English explorer, archaeologist and author (b. 1852).
* May 21 - Augustus Wollaston Franks, English antiquarian (b. 1826).
