1853 in archaeology
Below are notable events in archaeology that occurred in 1853.
Explorations
- Alexander Cunningham examines and describes the ruins at Harappa in the Punjab
- John Thurnam begins investigating tumuli around Knap Hill in Wiltshire, England
Finds
- Hormuzd Rassam excavates the clay tablets which will be deciphered as Epic of Gilgamesh
- Winter 1853–54 – Archaeologist Ferdinand Keller identifies the remains of the Meilen–Rorenhaab site, first of the prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zurich to be located.
Births
- June 3 – Flinders Petrie, English Egyptologist
- December 26 – Wilhelm Dörpfeld, German architect and archaeologist
Deaths
- June 8 – Howard Vyse, English soldier and Egyptologist
- Charles Masson, British explorer of Buddhist sites