1888 in archaeology
Below are notable events in archaeology that occurred in 1888.
Explorations
- Chaco Canyon is surveyed and photographed by Victor and Cosmos Mindeleff of the Bureau of American Ethnology.
- Heinrich Schliemann attempts to locate the tomb of Alexander the Great in Alexandria, but is denied permission to excavate.
Excavations
- May 22 - Augustus Pitt Rivers begins excavation of Bokerly Dyke.
- Excavations of Hawara in Egypt by Flinders Petrie, finds including papyri containing parts of Homer's Iliad, and the Fayum mummy portraits.
- Excavations of Nippur sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania begin.
- Excavations of the Cadmea in Thebes, Greece, by the German Archaeological Institute at Athens begin.
- Carl Humann directs new excavations in Sam'al and a trial excavation in Tralles.
Finds
- December 18 - Discovery of three villages by Richard Wetherill and his brother-in-law Charlie Mason while tracking stray cattle: Cliff Palace, Spruce Tree House, and Square Tower House; now part of Mesa Verde National Park.
- Llantwit Major Roman Villa.
- The Mourning Athena relief is found near the Acropolis of Athens.
Publications
American Anthropologist journal is founded.- Archibald Sayce, The Hittites: The Story of a Forgotten Empire.
Miscellaneous
- January 13 - National Geographic Society formed in the United States.
Births
- February 1 - Gertrude Caton Thompson, English archaeologist of Africa
- August 16 - T. E. Lawrence, British archaeologist of the Middle East, military officer, diplomat and author
- October 6 - Birger Nerman, Swedish archaeologist
Deaths
- March 10 - Lucy Wright Mitchell, American archaeologist