1890 in archaeology

Explorations

• Alfred Maudslay begins his documentation of the Maya ruins of Palenque.

Excavations

• Arthur Evans excavates a Belgae cemetery site at Aylesford.
• J.R. Mortimer begins excavations at Duggleby Howe.
• The Society of Antiquaries of London begins its excavations of Calleva Atrebatum.
• Merv.
• Flinders Petrie excavates at Tell el-Hesi, Palestine, the first scientific excavation of an archaeological site in the Holy Land, during which he discovers how tells are formed.

Finds

• Saltley handaxe excavated in Birmingham, the first paleolithic human artefact found in The Midlands of England.
• Hermes Criophorus statue found in Troezen, Greece.

Births

• April 21: Benno Landsberger, German Assyriologist
• September 10: Mortimer Wheeler, British archaeologist

Deaths

• July 14: John Clayton, English antiquarian
• August 2: Charles Roach Smith, British archaeologist; co-founder of the British Archaeological Association
• October 28: Jean Baptiste Holzmayer, German archaeologist
• December 26: Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist, excavator of Troy