William Loftus
Encyclopedia
William Kennett Loftus was a British
geologist, naturalist, explorer and archaeological excavator. He discovered the ancient Sumer
ian city of Uruk
in 1849.
, and went to school at Newcastle Royal Grammar School
. In Cambridge, where from 1840 he studied geology, he was a resident of Caius College. In 1845 he married Charlotte Thulbourne. From 1849 he served as geologist and naturalist with the British government's Turco-Persian Boundary Commission, under Col. W.F. Williams (Royal Artillery). The work of the mission gave Loftus and his friend Henry Adrian Churchill
the chance to visit ancient sites and, in 1850, to excavate for a month at Uruk
(Warka) and Larsa
(Senkereh).
Briefly, in February to April 1851, Loftus was released from the work of the Commission to excavate at Susa
on behalf of the British Museum
, but was in June replaced by Hormuzd Rassam
, together with whom Loftus subsequently explored the sites and collaborated on a report on the work at Susa. He is credited with the discovery of the Apadana
, later excavated by the French amateur archaeologist Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy
.
Engaged in 1853 by the newly-founded Assyrian Excavation Fund to conduct excavations in Warka, Loftus worked at the site from January to April 1854, uncovering the famous coloured clay cone wall and some tablets written in cuneiform script. In October of the same year he transferred to Nineveh
, and also worked at Nimrud
, where in February 1855 he found the so-called "Burnt Palace" of the Assyrian king Assurnasirpal II and a hoard of exquisite ivories.
In September 1856 Loftus was engaged as assistant geologist to the Geological Survey of India
, but in India he suffered declining health and died at sea on the voyage back to Britain, aged 38.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
geologist, naturalist, explorer and archaeological excavator. He discovered the ancient Sumer
Sumer
Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....
ian city of Uruk
Uruk
Uruk was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates river, on the ancient dry former channel of the Euphrates River, some 30 km east of modern As-Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Uruk gave its name to the Uruk...
in 1849.
Biography
Loftus was brought up in RyeRye, East Sussex
Rye is a small town in East Sussex, England, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede...
, and went to school at Newcastle Royal Grammar School
Royal Grammar School, Newcastle
Royal Grammar School Newcastle upon Tyne, known locally and often abbreviated as RGS, is a long-established co-educational, independent school in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It gained its Royal Charter under Queen Elizabeth I...
. In Cambridge, where from 1840 he studied geology, he was a resident of Caius College. In 1845 he married Charlotte Thulbourne. From 1849 he served as geologist and naturalist with the British government's Turco-Persian Boundary Commission, under Col. W.F. Williams (Royal Artillery). The work of the mission gave Loftus and his friend Henry Adrian Churchill
Henry Adrian Churchill
Henry Adrian Churchill was an archaeologist of ancient Mesopotamia and a friend of his fellow archaeologist William Kennett Loftus. As part of the 1849-52 Turco-Persian frontier commission sent by the British government, he, Loftus and a detachment of troops rode across the desert and marshes of...
the chance to visit ancient sites and, in 1850, to excavate for a month at Uruk
Uruk
Uruk was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates river, on the ancient dry former channel of the Euphrates River, some 30 km east of modern As-Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Uruk gave its name to the Uruk...
(Warka) and Larsa
Larsa
Larsa was an important city of ancient Sumer, the center of the cult of the sun god Utu. It lies some 25 km southeast of Uruk in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate, near the east bank of the Shatt-en-Nil canal at the site of the modern settlement Tell as-Senkereh or Sankarah.-History:According to...
(Senkereh).
Briefly, in February to April 1851, Loftus was released from the work of the Commission to excavate at Susa
Susa
Susa was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires of Iran. It is located in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris River, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers....
on behalf of 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...
, but was in June replaced by Hormuzd Rassam
Hormuzd Rassam
Hormuzd Rassam , was a native Assyrian Assyriologist, British diplomat and traveller who made a number of important discoveries, including the clay tablets that contained the Epic of Gilgamesh, the world's oldest literature...
, together with whom Loftus subsequently explored the sites and collaborated on a report on the work at Susa. He is credited with the discovery of the Apadana
Apadana
The Apadāna is a collection of biographical stories found in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pāli Canon, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. It is thought by most scholars to be a late addition to the canon, composed during the 1st and 2nd century BCE...
, later excavated by the French amateur archaeologist Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy
Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy
Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy was a French archaeologist, noted for his excavations at Susa in 1885 and for his work, L'Art antique de la Perse.-Early life:...
.
Engaged in 1853 by the newly-founded Assyrian Excavation Fund to conduct excavations in Warka, Loftus worked at the site from January to April 1854, uncovering the famous coloured clay cone wall and some tablets written in cuneiform script. In October of the same year he transferred to Nineveh
Nineveh
Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, and capital of the Neo Assyrian Empire. Its ruins are across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, in the Ninawa Governorate of Iraq....
, and also worked at Nimrud
Nimrud
Nimrud is an ancient Assyrian city located south of Nineveh on the river Tigris in modern Ninawa Governorate Iraq. In ancient times the city was called Kalḫu. The Arabs called the city Nimrud after the Biblical Nimrod, a legendary hunting hero .The city covered an area of around . Ruins of the city...
, where in February 1855 he found the so-called "Burnt Palace" of the Assyrian king Assurnasirpal II and a hoard of exquisite ivories.
In September 1856 Loftus was engaged as assistant geologist to the Geological Survey of India
Geological Survey of India
Geological Survey of India , established in 1851 is a government organization in India which is an attached office to the Ministry of Mines of Union Government of India for conducting geological surveys and studies. It is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and the second oldest...
, but in India he suffered declining health and died at sea on the voyage back to Britain, aged 38.
Works
- Travels and Researches in Chaldaea and Susiana in 1849-52 (1857)
- Reports of the Assyrian Excavation Fund I and II, published in R.D. Barnett, Sculptures from the North Palace of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh (668-627 B.C.) (1976)
External links
- William Kennett Loftus (at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
)