Timeline of Significant
Dates of Archaeological Expeditions and Discoveries
1879 - Rassam Excavates Many
Tablets in Babylon Ruins with a Possible Location of the
Hanging Gardens
1878 - Campaigns of
Sennacherib, Annals of Ashurbanipal and Many Tablets are
Excavated by Rassam
1877 - Archaeology of Ancient
Sumer is Awakened by Louvre Treasures
1877 - Victory Stele of
Eannatum is Discovered by Frenchman Ernest de Sarzec at
Lagash Site
1873 - George Smith Identifies
Wreckless Looting By Layard and Ruthless Quarrying By Mosul
Bridge Builders
1873 - British Museum Sends
George Smith to Further Excavate at Nimrud and Koujunjik
1872 - Britain Sends Conder
and Kitchener for Inch to Mile Survey of Sites in Western
Israel
1871 - The Jerusalem Temple
Warning Inscription Stone Was Discovered by Ganneau
1870 - The Moabite Stone (Mesha
Stele) is Discovered by Ganneau
1867 - France Sends the
Brilliant Charles Clermont-Ganneau to Israel
1867 - Britain Sends
Lieutenant Charles Warren to Investigate Jerusalem
1865 - Western Israel is
Surveyed Because of Palestine Exploration Fund Foundation
1865 - The Immense Temple of
Artemis is Discovered by J.T. Wood Because of a Roman
Inscription
1864 - The Study of the Roman
Catacombs is Examined Thoroughly by Giovanni De Rossi
1863 - Britain Sends J.T. Wood
to Explore the Ancient Site of Ephesus
1860 - The Temple of Edfu in
Egypt is Excavated by Mariette
1859 - The Codex Sinaiticus is
Discovered by Constantin Tischendorf
1858 - The Temple of
Hatshepsut in Egypt is Excavated by Mariette
1858 - Mariette is Recognized
for Locating 15,000 Monuments at 37 Egyptian Sites From
Memphis to Karnak
1853 - Ashurbanipal's Library
Opened the Door for a Detailed Study of Assyrian and
Babylonian History
Note: Because of the many tablets discovered by
archaeologists we are now certain that written records of
important events were documented from the beginning of
history. The Bible itself was believed by scholars to have
been written long after the events they describe, and that
the Old Testament was based on oral tradition at best.
1851 - Massive Assyrian
Shipments were Lost in The Tigris River on Their Way to
France
1850 - Excavations at the
Ancient Area of Erech (Uruk) in the Land of Shinar by W.F.
Loftus
1850 - The Sarapeum is
Discovered in Egypt by Marriette and the National Museum is
Established at Cairo
1850 - The Science of
Assyriology is Underway with Many Historians in Disbelief of
Biblical Accuracy
Note: The new treasures found in the British Museum
and the Louvre brought scores of expeditions to the Tigris
and Euphrates Valley, Britain, France, Germany, America, and
pretty much the whole world was impressed with the findings
and wanted to see more, and learn more about the early days
of the human race. Although hundreds of thousands of
archaeological discoveries have been unearthed, the work
still goes on.
1849 - Layard's Book "Nineveh
and Its Remains" is Published
1849 - Innumerable Clay
Tablets are Unearthed at the Royal Library of Nineveh
1849 - Sennacherib's Palace at
Koujunjik is Discovered by Layard
1849 - A 12 Volume Word is
Published About Prussian Expeditions in Egypt by Karl
Richard Lepsius
1848 - Tombs of the Kings is
Discovered in Jerusalem by F. de Saulcy
1848 - Massive Shipment of
Layards Discoveries are Shipped to Britain
1847 - The Famous Black
Obelisk of Shalmaneser II is Discovered by Layard
1846 - The Palaces of
Ashurnasirpal, Shalmaneser II, Tiglath-pileser II,
Adadnirari and Essarhaddon are Discovered.
1845 - Excavation at Nimrud
(Ancient Calah) Began By Austin Henry Layard
Note: Austen Henry Layard was an Englishman who was referred
to as the "father of a Assyriology." From 1845-1851 he
excavated the mounds of Nineveh and Nimrud. He discovered
the palaces of five Assyrian kings who were all mentioned in
the Bible. He also discovered the great library of
Ashurbanipal which contained over 100,000 clay tablets.
1845 - The Foundation is Laid
for the Interpretation of Cuneiform and Mesopotamian History
1844 - The Ancient Site of
Nineveh is Discovered
1843 - Khorsabad and the
Palace of Sargon II are Discovered by Botta on Another Mound
Note: Botta spent nearly 10 years excavating the magnificent
Palace of King Sargon
1842 - Excavations of Ancient
Assyrian Mounds Began at Koujunjik With Frenchman Paul Emile
Botta
1842 - The Behistun Rock
Inscription of Darius I is Deciphered and Copied at
Considerable Risk
Note: Sir Henry Rawlinson was a British army officer in 1835
when he noticed on Behistun Mountain, about 200 miles to the
northeast of ancient Babylon, a huge 1700 foot rock standing
out in the open plain. The strange perpendicular cliff
contained a very smooth surface with strange carvings. After
careful investigation Rawlinson determined that the engraved
inscription was made in 516 BC by Darius, king of Persia. It
was the same Darius who gave orders to rebuild the Temple of
Jerusalem. The book of Ezra in the Bible records this event
and the fact that in the same year the Temple was completed.
The full inscription recorded the conquests of Darius in
Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian languages. Because of these
Rawlinson was able to decipher the ancient Babylonian
language within a 14 year period.
1837 - Discoveries in Persia
are Examined by Colonel Henry Rawlinson
1828 - An Exhaustive
Topography of Ancient Sites in the Holy Land is Created by
Edward Robinson and Eli Smith
1822 - Egyptian Hieroglyphics
Are Finally Deciphered by Jean Francois Champollion
1820 - Claude James Rich
Visits Mosul and Tries to Identify the Site of Ancient
Nineveh
1817 - The Search for the
Egyptian Pharaohs Begins
1817 - The Temple of Ramesses
I is Discovered at Abu Simbel by Italian Archaeologist
Giovanni Belzoni
1815 - Lady Stanhope Devotes
Her Life to Excavating Statuary from Askelon
1812 - Petra is Discovered by
Swiss Explorer Johan Ludwig Burckhardt
1811 - Babylon is Excavated in
Part by Claude James Rich and Interest is Awakened
Note: The scattered mounds invited much attention among
travelers and explorers, and many of the local natives
believed these mounds were somehow cursed. Claude James Rich
was a British agent living in Baghdad, after reviewing some
minor discoveries he visited the mounds that made up the
site of ancient Babylon in 1811. He began a small excavation
with some locals and found some cuneiform tablets which he
brought back to Baghdad.
1805 - Caesarea Philippi,
Ammon and Ancient Jerash (Gerasa) are Discovered by Ulrich
Seetzen
1799 - The Rosetta Stone was
Discovered and the key to Egyptian Hieroglyphics
Decipherment
1798 - Interest in Egypt is
Awakened with Napoleon's Occupation
1770 - Archeologia Journal is
Released in London
1717 - The Society of
Antiquaries is Established in London
1173 - The Site of Babylon is
Identified by Jewish Scholar Benjamin of Tudela
Note: The
scattered mounds throughout the Euphrates Valley reveal
where man's earliest inhabitants built cities. Cities were
built upon older cities until the mounds grew to over 100
feet tall and had peculiar shapes.
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