1898 in archaeology

Explorations

• Exploration of the site of Assur by German archaeologists begins.

Excavations

• J. E. Quibell excavates the royal residences of various early Egyptian kings at Hierakonpolis in Upper Egypt.
• Excavations at Bremetennacum, Lancashire, England.

Finds

• March - Victor Loret discovers Amenhotep II's mummy in his KV35 tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings within the original sarcophagus, together with a mummy cache containing several New Kingdom Pharaohs including Thutmose IV, Seti II and Ramesses III, IV and VI.
• Summer - The Bleasdale Circle, a Bronze Age timber and earthwork in Lancashire, England, is discovered by Thomas Kelsall.
• The Withypool Stone Circle on Exmoor, England, is discovered accidentally by Archibald Hamilton.
• The Narmer Palette is found by J. E. Quibell while excavating the royal residences of various early Egyptian kings at Hierakonpolis in Upper Egypt.
• The site of Karakorum is identified as the former Mongol capital by Nikolai Yadrintsev, who discovers the Orkhon script during the same expedition.
• Willie Peppé, excavating a stupa at Piprahwa Kot, discovers ashes claimed to be of Gautama Buddha.
• Purported finding of the Kensington Runestone in Minnesota.

Births

• 22 August – Jaroslav Černý, Czech-born Egyptologist.
• 14 September – Ernest Nash, born Ernst Nathan, German-born student of Roman architecture and pioneer of archaeological photography.
• 21 December – George E. Mylonas, Greek archaeologist.
• 31 December – J. Eric S. Thompson, English archaeologist, student of the Maya civilization.
• Phoebe Keef

Deaths

• 21 October – Marianne Brocklehurst, English Egyptological traveller and expedition sponsor.