1980 in archaeology

Excavations

• Aëtos Hill, Menelaion Ridge, Laconia, Greece, takes place under H. W. Catling.
• San Vincenzo al Volturno by the British School of Archaeology at Rome begin.
• Ain Dara temple, Syria; continues until 1985.
• Excavations begin at Dryslwyn Castle in Wales under the direction of Chris Caple; the dig lasts until 1995 and the results written up in a monograph published by the Society for Medieval Archaeology in 2007

Finds

• 17 February - Derrynaflan Chalice in the south of Ireland.
• 28 March - Talpiot Tomb in Jerusalem.
• August - Wreck of the Breadalbane in the Northwest Passage.
• Wreck of on the Goodwin Sands.
• Wreck of the paddle steamer Eric Nordevall in Vättern in Sweden.
• Wreck of American Great Lakes whaleback barge 115 in Lake Superior.
• Frieze at Aphrodisias in Anatolia showing Claudius subjugating Britannia.

Publications

• W. A. McCutcheon - The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland. Belfast: HMSO..

Events

• 19 December - Chaco Canyon National Monument is renamed Chaco Culture National Historical Park with 13,000 acres added. The Chaco Culture Archaeological Protection Site program is created to protect Chacoan sites.

Deaths

• January 2 - Rhys Carpenter, American Classical art historian
• August 24 - André Parrot, French archaeologist of the Near East
• September 8
• * Willard Libby, American physical chemist, key developer of radiocarbon dating
• * Keith Muckelroy, British maritime archaeologist, in diving accident
• November 16 - Don Crabtree, American experimental archaeologist