Victorian Archaeological News...

Excerpted here are a bunch of news reports about archaeological happenings around the globe in Victorian times and into the Edwardian era. They describe events surrounding some of the greatest archaeological discoveries ever recorded. These reports come from the archives of the “London Illustrated News”, latterly described as the “worst newspaper in England”, but one of the first newspapers to have a column dedicated to archaeological news.

These snippets are not so much about the discoveries themselves – erstwhile Keepers can find out the dates and names concerning various digs with little effort – but they do reveal very much more about the impact of archaeology on the society of the day as well as the ideas and attitudes which were prevalent at the time. It’s worthwhile remembering that Archaeology, as a science, was very new when these reports started to appear, and the methods – both of unearthing artefacts, and transporting and maintaining them – were very much in their infancy. Be prepared to wince!

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February 11^th, 1843

Xanthian Marbles go on display at the British Museum

“In the British Museum an exhibition has this week been thrown open to the public of a collection of marbles made in Asia Minor by the celebrated classic traveller Charles Fellowes, and brought to this country at the expense of the Government. They are popularly called the ‘Xanthian Marbles’; but this is not quite correct, as they come from various places besides the ancient capital of Lycia... The bas-reliefs of one of the largest tombs of Xanthus are now in the British Museum.”

June 26^th, 1847

Nimroud Sculptures arrive at the British Museum

“The accounts which have reached this country from time to time of the recent excavations and discoveries amongst the supposed ruins of Nineveh, have excited the curiosity not only of the antiquarian but also of all scriptural students, from the illustration they afford of passages of Holy Writ, of which all material traces appear to be lost. We are indebted for such remains as have hitherto come to light on the indefatigable labours of M. Botta, the French consul at Mossal, and to our own countryman Mr. Layard; and it is no more than justice to the latter to remark that he was the first to indicate the probability of these ruins, though his suggestions were so coldly received by our Government that he was left to pursue his researches unaided, excepting the private resources of Sir Stratford Canning. The French Government, however, with its accustomed liberal sympathy in the cause of science, stepped in and most nobly assisted M. Botta, who was thus enabled to precede Mr. Layard in discoveries of sculptures, etc., etc., at Khorsabad, which have, some time since, been forwarded to Paris. The prompt liberality of our neighbours has, at length, had some effect upon ourselves, as we are informed that some pecuniary assistance has been transmitted to Mr. L., though, certainly, somewhat at the eleventh hour; for he has energetically worked, regardless of obstacles, and succeeded in forwarding to this country some of his important discoveries, which have within the last few days arrived safely at the British Museum.”

December 16^th, 1848

More Nimroud Sculptures go on display at the British Museum

“The fruits of Mr. Layard’s excavations which we now have under notice, were sunk in the Jumna during their voyage to England, and are stated to have suffered considerable damage from their submersion; whilst we ourselves can vouch for the irreparable injury to the smaller and more fragile remains – such as glass and ivory – the consequences of careless packing and repacking; nevertheless, enough has been preserved to confirm the interest which already attached to these Scriptural antiquities...”

July 27^th, 1850

More Nimroud Sculptures set sail from Nineveh

“The English public will rejoice to hear that the Great Bull and upwards of a hundred tons of sculpture, excavated by our enterprising countryman, Dr. Layard, are now on their way to England, and may be expected in the course of next September...”

February 16^th 1856

Excavations resume in Cumae

“We are glad to be able to report that his Royal Highness the Count of Syracuse has recommenced his excavations in Cumae... The site chosen for excavation is close to the main road to Licola, and at no great distance from the wall of the city; in short it is in the midst of the Necropolis – a field which has been so fruitful of splendid remains of antiquity within the last three years. The researches of his Royal Highness were not at first attended with any great success, as the tombs into which he entered were found to have been rifled and broken; but, on further investigation, a fragment of a vase struck his attention, by the exquisite delicacy of a figure that was drawn upon it. Would that the other fragments could be found! Orders were issued to sift the earth in the tomb, and the result was that all the pieces were found which compose another beautiful Vase...”

October 24^th 1857

The “Gorgon” Sculptures from the tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus arrive at the British Museum

“Halicarnassus, the Royal residence and chief maritime city of ancient Caria, in Asia Minor, will ever be celebrated as the birthplace of Herodotus, and for the magnificent mausoleum known as one of the seven wonders of the world... The interesting ruins existing at Boudroum, and at other parts of Asia Minor, at length aroused sufficient attention to induce our Government to direct an expedition of the discovery; and the first result has been the ‘Gorgon’ collection of marbles from Boudroum, which have recently been forwarded from Woolwich Dockyard to the British Museum...”

April 16^th 1859

Excavations take place at Roman Wroxeter

“Some excavations have been made at Wroxeter, Shropshire, the site of Roman Uriconium, of which Mr. J. Wright gives the following account: ‘Uriconium was one of the earliest Roman cities in Britain, for it is mentioned in Ptolemy, and was no doubt a place of importance for it covered a space of ground which... is nearly two miles long by one mile in its greatest breadth... About the centre of the area, a large mass of Roman masonry, more than 20 feet high, and of considerable extent, stands above the ground, and has from time immemorial been known as the ‘Old Wall’...”

December 31^st, 1864

Excavations resume at Pompeii

“During the last three or four years, since the misrule of the Neapolitan Bourbons was superseded by the kingdom of Italy, great progress has been made in the task of bringing to light that abundant store of curious relics of antiquity which had remained for eighteen centuries buried in the ruins of Pompeii...”

February 1^st, 1868

Reports are tabled concerning Ongou Wat (Angkor Wat)

“Few architectural monuments of a remote antiquity in Asia are more curious than the ruined temples of Cambodia, adjoining Siam... This country was explored and described, eight or nine years ago by the late M. Henri Mouhot, the naturalist; and it has been visited more recently by Mr. J. Thomson, a photographic artist, residing at Bangkok, the capital of Siam. Mr. Thomson, having come home, a year or two since, laid the results of his observations, with a series of photographs, before the Royal Geographical Society, and also before the Geographical and Ethnological Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. He gave a particular account of his visit to Ongou Wat; the ‘Wat’ or Buddhist temple at Ongou or Ongcor otherwise called Nakou or Nokhor, the ancient capital of Cambodia, now in ruins. It lies near the head of the great lake, Tonli Sap, through which the Mekon river flows from Cambodia to the Gulf of Siam. The site is almost surrounded by a thickly-grown forest of enormous trees, infested with lions and tigers...”

April 10^th, 1869

The destruction of Cornwall’s Toel Maen precipitates discussions of preserving Neolithic monuments throughout the British Isles

“Our illustration of this great natural and historical curiosity, which has lately been destroyed, will be of interest to many readers. The Tolmen, more properly written Tol-Maen, or Hole of Stone, in the ancient Celtic language of West Britain, but usually called the Main Rock, or Men Rock, by modern Cornishmen, half way between Penrhyn and Helston, and 4 miles from Falmouth. It is thus described by Borlase, in his book on the antiquities of Cornwall: ‘but the most astonishing monument of this kind is in the tenement of Men, in the points of two natural rocks, so that a man may creep under the great one and between its supporters through a passage about 3 feet wide and as much high. The longest diameter of this stone is 33 feet, pointing due north and south, 14 feet 6 inches deep and the breadth in the middle of the surface (where widest) was 18 feet 6 inches from east to west. I measured one half of the circumference, and found it, according to my computation, 48.5 feet; so that this stone is 97 feet in circumference, about 60 feet across the middle, and, by the best information I can get, contains at least 750 tons of stone’... Immediately beneath the ‘tolmen’ was a valuable granite quarry, which had been worked to the depth of 40 feet, close up to the bed where the Tol-Maen rested. This has been rented by someone, who, unknown to the proprietor, Mr. Hosken, had a hole bored underneath the rock and charged, and this, when fired, threw the Tol-Maen off its bed and caused it to roll into the quarry 40 feet below... In consequence of Sir John Lubbock’s appeal on the destruction of the Tol-Maen, the council of the Ethnological Society have appointed a committee to investigate the prehistoric monuments of these islands, and the measures taken for their preservation...”

April 24^th 1869

Reports on the underground survey of Jerusalem are tabled

“The topography of ancient Jerusalem, a subject of profound historical interest, has long been disputed by the learned partisans of different speculative theories, without adding much to our positive knowledge. The labours of Lieutenant Charles Warren , R.E., with the assistance of Sergeant Birtles and one or two other non-commissioned officers, employed during the last two years by the Palestine Exploration Fund, have opened a new series of practical researches, which ought to be well supported by the diplomatic influence of the British Government, and by pecuniary contributions of those who care either for science or for Scripture. The fund is raised by a society whose objects are the accurate and systematic investigation of the archaeology and topography, the geology and physical geography, and the manners and customs of the Holy Land; with a view to Biblical illustration, but with a view no less to the general interests of historical and scientific enquiry. Its undertaking is therefore one that deserves the aid of persons of the most diverse religious opinions, associating their efforts in the common pursuit of that knowledge which is desired by every intelligent mind.”

March 22^nd, 1873 to April 3^rd, 1875

Ephesus

“Since May, 1869, when Mr. J.T. Wood discovered the site of the temple among the ruins of that city, excavations have been diligently continued, under his personal direction, which have gone far to show the exact plan and architectural features. The building is now proved to be octastyle – that is, having eight columns in front... The interior appears to have been adorned with two tiers of elliptical columns, Ionic and Corinthian, fragments of these having been found near the walls of the cella. The excavations are now going on with a large number of workmen, and before the termination of the season we hope we shall have some interesting intelligence for our readers... It was in May, 1863, that Mr. Wood began his researches on the spot, braving a most unhealthy climate, and every sort of discomfort. He obtained, a year or two later, the grant of £100 from the trustees of the British Museum, to examine the Odeon or lyric theatre. In February, 1866, he began his exploration of the great theatre, and sent home, in 1868, by H.M.S. Terrible, seventy-seven cases of the most valuable relics of sculpture and architecture for our Museum. A year and a half were employed in searching for the true site of the wonderful Temple of Diana. This was discovered, on the last day of 1869, a long distance from the place at which it had been supposed to be... The site, comprising eight acres, was purchased by Mr. Wood... at a cost of £4000... A grant of £6000 from her Majesty’s Government enabled Mr. Wood to go on with his work, employing 300 men till a twelve-month ago. We hope money will soon be forthcoming to finish this noble task. Mr. Wood, during five years, was accompanied by his wife, whose kind care of the work-people did much good.”

December 9^th, 1876 to January 12^th, 1878

Treasure Troves at Mycenae and Troy

“We are indebted to Mr. Marwood Tucker, for some Illustrations, made from recollection, of the interesting exhibition of Dr. Schliemann’s Mycenaean antiquities, privately shown to Lord and Lady Salisbury and their party in Athens. All the articles which have been brought from Mycenae are in the custody of the Royal Bank of Greece, and had not previously been exhibited... The strong points of Dr. Schliemann’s case were put with much force, and yet with all due candour, before the audience. At the same time, while expressing the greatest admiration of Dr. Schliemann’s self-sacrificing devotion to his archaeological enterprises, both in the Troad and Hellas, and recognising fully the great worth (as throwing light on the earliest history of Greece and Asia Minor) of his extraordinary discoveries, the need for caution was not left unmentioned... The arrival of Dr. Schliemann in London, and his address to be delivered here to the Society of Antiquaries, must increase the amount of public interest already felt in his successful explorations of the sites of ancient classical history... The objects found by Dr. Schliemann have been more than once on view, in one of the rooms of the National Bank. These precious articles have been placed there for safety, and will remain there in the strong room till a suitable museum can be provided, where they will all be labelled, and will be exposed, in proper cases, for the public to see them. Till this is done, it will be only privileged individuals who will have a chance of getting a peep at what has so long lain quietly under the earth at Mycenae... At present these objects are being photographed, for the purpose of illustrating the work upon which Dr. Schliemann is now employed... This is to be published by Mr. Murray, and it is said that £6000 is the sum the publisher has agreed to pay for the copyright. If I mistake not, that is about what Dr. Livingstone received for his Travels in Africa...”

“On former occasions... we entered fully into the subject of these excavations... As early as 1870 Dr. Schliemann made some preliminary excavations into the Hill of Hissarlik, an elevated plateau of about eighty feet above the plain of Troy, but he was then forced to suspend his operations for more than a year, while waiting for the necessary firman from the Turkish Government authorising him to continue the explorations and forcing the proprietors to part with the ground at a lawful price. All through the fine weather of 1872 and 1873 Dr. Schliemann persevered in his labour, which was carried on entirely at his own expense, the Turkish Government even obliging him to pay the salary of the official employed by them to watch his proceedings. During these months Dr. Schliemann discovered the remains of four settlements or cities, one below the other, besides the Greek colony of Alexander the Great... The third city, which Dr. Schliemann calls Troy proper, Ilium, where he found the so-called Priam treasure, reaches to 33 feet below the surface...”

March 10^th, 1877 to September 21^st, 1878

Cleopatra’s Needle

“This obelisk of ancient Egypt, which has been left lying so long half buried in the sand at Alexandria, is now about to be made an ornament to the city of London. Its removal has been considered a matter of such great expense that the British Government has not felt justified in undertaking it and, had it not been for the private generosity of Dr. Erasmus Wilson, and the ingenuity of the engineer, it would most likely have remained to form the foundations of the new houses leading to the Alexandria Railway Station... The consulting engineer is Mr. B. Baker, well known by his connection with the Metropolitan Railway, and the work will be performed by Mr. Dixon. The removal of this obelisk will be accomplished in the following manner: a wrought-iron cylindrical pontoon, 92 feet long and 15 feet in diameter, tapered at each end to a vertical edge, ... will be its only support in the water. Its draught is 9 feet, and displacement 270 tons. If completely submerged, its power of flotation is equal to 705 tons, and as the weight of the obelisk is only 150 tons with 30 tons of ballast, it is evident that there is no chance of its foundering... On top of the pontoon and near its centre, will be placed a small deck house, with steering-wheel in the forepart and accommodation for three men. There is a long, narrow hurricane-deck above the steering-room, and a short mast with two small sails surmounts the whole... The boat will be towed by steamer to London, the sails being merely used for steadying purposes. It is calculated that the roll will not be excessive... Our readers last week were informed that the south-west gale of Sunday, the 14^th, raging in the Bay of Biscay, as well as in England, compelled the abandonment, early next morning, of Mr. Dixon’s ingenious vessel, or iron-plate cylinder, named the Cleopatra, in which the Egyptian obelisk from Alexandria was being towed by the steamer Olga on its voyage to London. It was further stated in our last report that the Cleopatra was afterwards picked up by a steamer, the Fitzmaurice, bound for the Spanish port of Valencia; and we have since learned that the obelisk, in its still floating iron case, is left in safety at Ferrol, whence it will no doubt be brought to its destination; but some delay may arise from the claim of salvage to be paid for its recovery when cast adrift, and apparently in a foundering condition, at sea. The circumstance to be most deplored is the drowning of six men belonging to the Olga, who bravely went off to save the men from the Cleopatra and whose boat was swamped during the height of the gale on Sunday week.”

“The iron cylinder-vessel Cleopatra, constructed by Mr. John Dixon, civil engineer, to contain the obelisk called ‘Cleopatra’s Needle’ and to serve for its conveyance from Alexandria to London, arrived safely in the Thames on Monday last... The expenses of bringing the Obelisk to England, it is well known, are defrayed by the splendid liberality of Mr. Erasmus Wilson, the eminent surgeon to whom some token of Royal favour or some other public testimonial, should presently be offered... The controversy about the best site for it in London has not yet been ended. Mr. Erasmus Wilson has proposed the centre of the ornamental garden, adjacent to Old Palace-yard and to St. Margaret’s-churchyard, Westminster, sometimes called Parliament-square, where a wooden model of the obelisk, equal to it in size, has been erected to show the effect... The Cleopatra was moored, or lashed to a dredging-vessel, about one hundred yards above Westminster Bridge, near the Lambeth side, at St. Thomas’s Hospital, opposite the Houses of Parliament. Many visitors have been admitted to inspect this curious vessel, and to look at a portion of the surface of the enclosed obelisk, for which purpose an iron plate has been removed from the deck... [Cleopatra’s Needle] was on Thursday week placed in its due perpendicular attitude, directly over the pedestal, which will now be completed by adding the upper course of masonry... It is stated that Mr. John Dixon, C.E., has expended £5000 over and above the £10,000 liberally bestowed by Mr. Erasmus Wilson, for the cost of bringing Cleopatra’s Needle from Egypt, with its detention by the accident in the Bay of Biscay, and finally erecting the obelisk in London...”

February 4^th, 1882

Royal Mummies found near Thebes

“The recent discovery at Thebes in Upper Egypt has of late been so fully and frequently discussed in various publications, that it is unnecessary to do more than recapitulate the heads of the story in our present columns. The leading facts are briefly these: For the last ten years or more it had been suspected that the Theban Arabs (whose main occupation is tomb-pillage and mummy-snatching) had found a royal sepulchre. Objects of great rarity and antiquity were being brought to Europe every season by travellers who purchased them from native dealers living on the spot; and many of these objects were historically traceable to certain royal dynasties which made Thebes their capital city. Some of the travellers were also dealers and resold their purchases to the British Museum and the Louvre. At length suspicion became certainty... [Herr Emil Brugsch, keeper of the Boolak Museum travelled] to a lonely spot in the great Necropolis... found some thirty-six mummies, including more than twenty kings and queens, besides princes, princesses and high priests; to say nothing of an immense store of sacred vessels, funeral statuettes, alabaster vases, and precious objects in glass, bronze, acacia-wood, etc. In a word, the treasure thus strangely brought to light consisted of some 6000 items, not the least valuable of which were four Royal papyri. Professor Maspero, in his official Report, warmly eulogises the energy with which Herr Emil Brugsch by the aid of 500 native labourers, exhumed, packed, shipped and brought to Cairo the whole contents of this now famous hiding-place.”

August 25^th, 1883

Gold Ornaments of the Incas of Peru

“We give some illustrations of a very interesting and unique collection of gold ornaments from the ‘huacas’ or graves of the Incas of Peru. They were obtained by Señor Don Leocadio Maria Arango, of Medellia, during a residence of thirty years in that country, but have now passed into the collection of Lady Brassey. To readers acquainted with the romantic history of Peru, an inspection of these antiquities will recall the memories of Cuzco, capital of the Incas, the golden City of the Sun, that hallowed spot which surpassed in splendour even the gorgeous fables of the Arabian Nights...”

November 21^st, 1885

Excavation of Naukratis by Flinders Petrie

“It is now two years and more since the [Egyptian Exploration] Society whose latest success is here recorded first came into existence. The Egypt Exploration Fund was the outcome of a great national want... Chiefly by the energy of the present honorary secretaries of the society, Miss Amelia B. Edwards and Mr. R. Stuart Poole, a band of energetic workers was formed, under the munificent presidency of the late Sir Erasmus Wilson, and including many of the best known English names in archaeology... Mr. Petrie, having previously reported on several promising sites, returned to one of these, which has proved to be of a special interest hardly foreseen probably by the originators of the society – he has found Naukratis. Being offered a Greek statuette by an Arab at the Pyramids, he was, on enquiry, guided to the spot whence it came, and saw the mound... strewn with pottery, not of Egyptian but of Greek manufacture. Pursuing his investigations beneath the soil, he has found a large and interesting series of objects, which show that beneath this mountain of sand and mud and rubbish, lay, some 600 years B.C., a flourishing Greek colony...”

September 11^th, 1886

Pharaoh’s Palace at Daphnae (Tahpanhes) in Egypt

“The Egypt Exploration Fund has not rested content with last year’s brilliant discovery of the Greek city of Naukratis, in the Delta... Last year, it will be remembered, the interest of the excavation centred specially around the Greek problems of art which were thereby solved; in the present exhibition Mr. Petrie, who a third time comes back in triumph, has materials for us all. In his last discovery of Daphnae, which in variety of interest ranks second to none within the present century, Biblical, Egyptian and Greek scholars can all find cause for celebration... This time it was not, as before, to a site like Naukratis, hitherto unknown, that he directed his steps. Tell Defenneh has long been recognised by scholars as the site which might cover the remains of the historic fortress of Daphnae... When Mr. Petrie, last spring, brought his Arab diggers to Defenneh, it was not a frowning fortress in a fertile plain that he attacked; fifteen miles of wilderness, where marsh alone varies the monotony of everlasting sand, and where the only shade is that of an occasional telegraph-post, brought his little army to the foot of three mounds, where his tent was pitched near the tamarisk trees...”

November 22^nd, 1890

Roman Silchester

“It was a rainy day when my visit was paid to Silchester. Our party consisted of a clergyman, F.S.A.; an archaeologist and artist well-known to readers of The Illustrated London News for thirty years past; and myself [Walter Besant]. Most fortunately we found on the spot the hon. sec. of the Antiquaries, and were shown by him all that there is to see... With the friendly aid that we received, we all went away very much the wiser, and ready to proclaim, with Rabelais, ‘that the greatest Treasures and most admirable Things are hidden under ground.’... Archaeology is best followed under a summer sky, with a soft breeze stirring the branches among the ruins, dry fields to walk among, and dry stones to clamber over... The rain fell steadily, and the sky was dull, yet the Roman wall lost little of its beauty.”

September 24^th, 1892

Dr. Flinders Petrie’s Antiquities from Tel el Amarna

“Dr. Flinders Petrie’s last excavations in Egypt have resulted in finding an entirely new couche of antiquities. It has  been long known that Khuenaten had introduced at least one new feature into the worship of the Egyptians. This was the worship of the Aten, or solar disc; which was represented only in his time with rays coming down, each terminating in a hand... Last season Dr. Flinders Petrie explored the ‘City of Khuenaten’, a new city which this Pharaoh built for himself, now known as Tell el Amarna. The strange and interesting results of this exploration show that Khuenaten had introduced many novelties into Egypt in addition to that of a new religion. Among these, it is found that he had brought in a new style of art, not only in sculpture, but in painting and decorative art as well... Dr. Flinders Petrie thinks it was entirely due to the personality of Khuenaten himself; for the art, as well as the worship of the solar disc, was all swept away by the Pharaohs that followed him. It is only in the mounds of the city that he founded that the remains of this non-Egyptian art have been met with.”

March 7^th 1896

Monsieur de Morgan’s Discoveries at Dahshur

“During the winter of 1893-4 M. de Morgan paid a visit to the stony plateau on the west bank of the Nile, which lies a few hours distant to the south-west of Cairo, where stand the famous pyramids of Dahshur; a little to the north are the pyramids of the Kings of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties, the ‘step’ pyramid of Sakkara, and other important monuments. The whole district is full of tombs, and all scholars have admitted the fact; yet, strangely enough, no systematic excavations have hitherto been made throughout it... M. de Morgan turned his attention to the southern end, and the results of his labours have fully justified his decision...excavations resulted in the discovery of a pit and gallery in which were a number of tombs that showed plainly the marks of the professional robber... Close by was a box filled with handsome gold and silver jewellery, and it is thought that the box had escaped the hands of the robbers by accident... the cover of one [sarcophagus] was lifted, and, to the great joy of all concerned, it was found to be tenanted by the mummy of the Princess Ha, which was ornamented with the most beautiful golden jewellery inlaid with cornelian, turquoise and lapis lazuli... When [a] second sarcophagus was opened, it was found to contain the mummy of the Queen Khnemit, who had been buried with most valuable articles of jewellery. Our illustration shows M. de Morgan in the act of lifting a magnificent golden crown from the head of the mummy of Queen Khnemit. Those who looked on at the removal of the jewellery from a great Queen who had died more than four thousand years ago saw a sight which they will probably never forget...”

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The “Priam Treasure” of Troy