William Gowland
Encyclopedia
William Gowland was an English
mining engineer
most famous for his archaeological work at Stonehenge
and in Japan
. He is known in Japan as the "Father of Japanese Archaeology", which is an exaggeration. He was a major founding figure.
in northern England. He attended the Royal College of Chemistry
and Royal School of Mines
at South Kensington
specializing in metallurgy
, and worked as a chemist and metallurgist at the Broughton Copper Company from 1870-1872. However, in 1872, at the age of 30, he was recruited by the Meiji government of the Empire of Japan
as a foreign engineering advisor
at the Osaka Zōheikyoku, the forerunner of the Japan Mint
.
on 8 October 1872 on the three year contract typical of many of the foreigners employed to aid the modernization of Japan. His contract was extended repeatedly, and he stayed for a total of 16 years, during which time he introduced techniques for the scientific analysis of metals, the production of bronze
and copper alloys for coinage
, and modern technologies such as the reverberatory furnace
for improving the efficiency of refining
copper ores. His expertise extended to areas outside of the Japan Mint, and he also served as a consultant to the Imperial Japanese Army
, helping establish the Osaka Arsenal for production of artillery
. He was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun
(4th class) by the Japanese government in 1883.
During his spare time in Japan, Gowland enjoyed mountaineering
, making the first recorded ascent on several peaks of the Japanese Alps
, a name which Gowland coined and which was published in 1888 by Basil Hall Chamberlain
in his Japan Guide. The name was later popularized by English missionary Walter Weston
. Gowland also claimed to have been the first foreigner known to have climbed Yarigatake
in 1874. The phrase "Japanese Alps" is attributed to Goweland.
However, Gowland is best known in Japan as an amateur archaeologist, conducting the first truly accurate scientific surveys of a number of Kofun period
(3rd-7th centuries AD) burial mounds
( kofun
), including a number of imperial mausolea. He excavated burial mounds in Saga prefecture
and Miyazaki prefecture
on Kyūshū
as well as in Fukushima Prefecture
north of Tokyo
, in addition to numerous sites in the Kinki region.
On Gowland's departure from Japan, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class and a 3000 yen bonus from then-Finance Minister
Matsukata Masayoshi
. Once back in his native England, he published numerous works on his researches in Japan, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
. Many of the artifacts he brought back to England are now at the British Museum
. Gowland was also an avid collector of Nihonga
style Japanese paintings.
Circle fell over, taking with it a lintel. Following public pressure and a letter to The Times
by William Flinders Petrie, The owner, Edmund Antrobus, agreed to remedial engineering work under archaeological supervision so that records could be made of the below ground archaeology.
Antrobus appointed Gowland to manage the job, who despite having no formal archaeological training, produced some of the finest, most detailed excavation records ever made at the monument. The only area he opened was that around the then precariously leaning Stone 56 (the western stone of the Great Trilithon), an area measuring around 17 ft by 13 ft, and the difficulty was compounded in that only small areas were dug at each time to allow concrete
to be poured and set.
Despite these difficulties, he established that antler picks had been used to dig the stone holes and that the stones themselves had been worked to shape on site. His work identified the 'Stonehenge layer', a thin strata of bluestone
chips that sealed many of the non-megalithic features at the site and proved that they predated the standing stones.
Gowland died in London
on 9 June 1922 at the age of 80, and was buried at Marylebone Cemetery.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
mining engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
most famous for his archaeological work at Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
and in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He is known in Japan as the "Father of Japanese Archaeology", which is an exaggeration. He was a major founding figure.
Biography
Gowland was born in Sunderland, in County DurhamCounty Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
in northern England. He attended the Royal College of Chemistry
Royal College of Chemistry
The Royal College of Chemistry was a college originally based on Oxford Street in central London, England. It operated between 1845 and 1872....
and Royal School of Mines
Royal School of Mines
Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London.- History :The Royal School of Mines was established in 1851, as the Government School of Mines and Science Applied to the Arts...
at South Kensington
South Kensington
South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
specializing in metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
, and worked as a chemist and metallurgist at the Broughton Copper Company from 1870-1872. However, in 1872, at the age of 30, he was recruited by the Meiji government of the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
as a foreign engineering advisor
O-yatoi gaikokujin
The Foreign government advisors in Meiji Japan, known in Japanese as oyatoi gaikokujin , were those foreign advisors hired by the Japanese government for their specialized knowledge to assist in the modernization of Japan at the end of the Bakufu and during the Meiji era. The term is sometimes...
at the Osaka Zōheikyoku, the forerunner of the Japan Mint
Japan Mint
The is an Incorporated Administrative Agency of the Japanese government. This agency has its Head office in Osaka with branches in Tokyo and Hiroshima.-History:...
.
In Japan (1872-88)
Gowland began work in OsakaOsaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
on 8 October 1872 on the three year contract typical of many of the foreigners employed to aid the modernization of Japan. His contract was extended repeatedly, and he stayed for a total of 16 years, during which time he introduced techniques for the scientific analysis of metals, the production of bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
and copper alloys for coinage
Mint (coin)
A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...
, and modern technologies such as the reverberatory furnace
Reverberatory furnace
A reverberatory furnace is a metallurgical or process furnace that isolates the material being processed from contact with the fuel, but not from contact with combustion gases...
for improving the efficiency of refining
Refining
Refining is the process of purification of a substance or a form. The term is usually used of a natural resource that is almost in a usable form, but which is more useful in its pure form. For instance, most types of natural petroleum will burn straight from the ground, but it will burn poorly...
copper ores. His expertise extended to areas outside of the Japan Mint, and he also served as a consultant to the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
, helping establish the Osaka Arsenal for production of artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
. He was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun
Order of the Rising Sun
The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese Government, created on April 10, 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight from the rising sun...
(4th class) by the Japanese government in 1883.
During his spare time in Japan, Gowland enjoyed mountaineering
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
, making the first recorded ascent on several peaks of the Japanese Alps
Japanese Alps
The is a series of mountain ranges in Japan that bisect the main island of Honshū. The name was coined by William Gowland, the "Father of Japanese Archaeology," and later popularized by Reverend Walter Weston , an English missionary for whom a memorial plaque is located at Kamikochi, a tourist...
, a name which Gowland coined and which was published in 1888 by Basil Hall Chamberlain
Basil Hall Chamberlain
Basil Hall Chamberlain was a professor of Tokyo Imperial University and one of the foremost British Japanologists active in Japan during the late 19th century. He also wrote some of the earliest translations of haiku into English...
in his Japan Guide. The name was later popularized by English missionary Walter Weston
Walter Weston
The Reverend Walter Weston , was an English clergyman, missionary, and mountaineer.-Background and early life:...
. Gowland also claimed to have been the first foreigner known to have climbed Yarigatake
Mount Yari
is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains. The high peak lies in the southern part of the Hida Mountains of Japan, on the border of Ōmachi and Matsumoto in Nagano Prefecture and Takayama in Gifu Prefecture...
in 1874. The phrase "Japanese Alps" is attributed to Goweland.
However, Gowland is best known in Japan as an amateur archaeologist, conducting the first truly accurate scientific surveys of a number of Kofun period
Kofun period
The is an era in the history of Japan from around 250 to 538. It follows the Yayoi period. The word kofun is Japanese for the type of burial mounds dating from this era. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes referred to collectively as the Yamato period...
(3rd-7th centuries AD) burial mounds
Kofun
Kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Japan, constructed between the early 3rd century and early 7th century. They gave their name to the Kofun period . Many of the Kofun have a distinctive keyhole-shaped mound , unique to ancient Japan...
( kofun
Kofun
Kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Japan, constructed between the early 3rd century and early 7th century. They gave their name to the Kofun period . Many of the Kofun have a distinctive keyhole-shaped mound , unique to ancient Japan...
), including a number of imperial mausolea. He excavated burial mounds in Saga prefecture
Saga Prefecture
is located in the northwest part of the island of Kyūshū, Japan. It touches both the Sea of Japan and the Ariake Sea. The western part of the prefecture is a region famous for producing ceramics and porcelain, particularly the towns of Karatsu, Imari, and Arita...
and Miyazaki prefecture
Miyazaki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Miyazaki.- History :Historically, after the Meiji Restoration, Hyūga Province was renamed Miyazaki Prefecture....
on Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
as well as in Fukushima Prefecture
Fukushima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.-History:Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
north of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, in addition to numerous sites in the Kinki region.
On Gowland's departure from Japan, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class and a 3000 yen bonus from then-Finance Minister
Ministry of Finance (Japan)
The ' is one of cabinet-level ministries of the Japanese government. The ministry was once named Ōkura-shō . The Ministry is headed by the Minister of Finance , who is a member of the Cabinet and is typically chosen from members of the Diet by the Prime Minister.The Ministry's origin was back in...
Matsukata Masayoshi
Matsukata Masayoshi
Prince was a Japanese politician and the 4th and 6th Prime Minister of Japan.-Early life:...
. Once back in his native England, he published numerous works on his researches in Japan, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
. Many of the artifacts he brought back to England are now at the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. Gowland was also an avid collector of Nihonga
Nihonga
or literally "Japanese-style paintings" is a term used to describe paintings that have been made in accordance with traditional Japanese artistic conventions, techniques and materials...
style Japanese paintings.
In England
On New Year's Eve 1900, Stone 22 of the SarsenSarsen
Sarsen stones are sandstone blocks found in quantity in the United Kingdom on Salisbury Plain, the Marlborough Downs, in Kent, and in smaller quantities in Berkshire, Essex, Oxfordshire, Dorset and Hampshire...
Circle fell over, taking with it a lintel. Following public pressure and a letter to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
by William Flinders Petrie, The owner, Edmund Antrobus, agreed to remedial engineering work under archaeological supervision so that records could be made of the below ground archaeology.
Antrobus appointed Gowland to manage the job, who despite having no formal archaeological training, produced some of the finest, most detailed excavation records ever made at the monument. The only area he opened was that around the then precariously leaning Stone 56 (the western stone of the Great Trilithon), an area measuring around 17 ft by 13 ft, and the difficulty was compounded in that only small areas were dug at each time to allow concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
to be poured and set.
Despite these difficulties, he established that antler picks had been used to dig the stone holes and that the stones themselves had been worked to shape on site. His work identified the 'Stonehenge layer', a thin strata of bluestone
Bluestone
Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:*a feldspathic sandstone in the U.S. and Canada;*limestone in the Shenandoah Valley in the U.S...
chips that sealed many of the non-megalithic features at the site and proved that they predated the standing stones.
Gowland died in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 9 June 1922 at the age of 80, and was buried at Marylebone Cemetery.
Selected works
- The Dolmens and other Antiquities of Korea, 1895
- The Art of Casting Bronze in Japan, 1896
- The Dolmens and Burial Mounds in Japan, 1897
- The Dolmens of Japan and their Builders, 1900
- The Burial Mounds and Dolmens of the Early Emperors of Japan, 1907
- The Art of Working Metals in Japan, 1910
- Metals in Antiquity, 1912
- The Metallurgy of Non-ferrous Metals, 1914
- Metal and Metal-Working in Old Japan, 1915
- Silver in Roman and Earlier Times, 1920