William Loftus

William Loftus

William Kennett Loftus (b. 13 November 1820, Linton, Kent; d. 27 November 1858, at sea) was a British geologist, naturalist, explorer and archaeological excavator. He discovered the ancient Sumerian city of Uruk in 1849.

He was brought up in Rye, and went to school at Newcastle Royal Grammar School. In Cambridge, where from 1840 he studied geology, he was a resident of Caius College. In 1845 he married Charlotte Thulbourne. From 1849 he served as geologist and naturalist with the British Government's Turco-Persian Boundary Commission, under Col. W.F. Williams (Royal Artillery). The work of the mission gave Loftus and his friend Henry Adrian Churchill the chance to visit ancient sites and, in 1850, to excavate for a month at Uruk (Warka) and Larsa (Senkereh).

Briefly, in February to April 1851, Loftus was released from the work of the Commission to excavate at Susa on behalf of the British Museum, but was in June replaced by Hormuzd Rassam, together with whom Loftus subsequently explored the sites and collaborated on a report on the work at Susa.

Engaged in 1853 by the newly-founded Assyrian Excavation Fund to conduct excavations in Warka, Loftus worked at the site from January to April 1854, uncovering the famous coloured clay cone wall and some tablets written in cuneiform script. In October of the same year he transferred to Nineveh, and also worked at Nimrud, where in February 1855 he found the so-called "Burnt Palace" of the Assyrian king Assurnasirpal II and a hoard of exquisite ivories.

In September 1856 Loftus was engaged as assistant geologist to the Geological Survey of India, but in India he suffered declining health and died at sea on the voyage back to Britain, aged 38.

Works

*"Travels and Researches in Chaldaea and Susiana in 1849-52" (1857)
*"Reports of the Assyrian Excavation Fund I and II", published in R.D. Barnett, "Sculptures from the North Palace of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh (668-627 B.C.)" (1976)

External links

* [http://www.litandphil.org.uk/loftus.htm]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Loftus — refers to:;Persons *Adam Loftus (Archbishop) (1533–1605), Irish Archbishop. Lord Chancellor of Ireland, first provost of Trinity College, Dublin *Adam Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus (1568–1643), Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1619 *Amy Loftus… …   Wikipedia

  • Loftus — 32°02′47″S 151°02′49″E / 32.04639, 151.04694 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Loftus — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Elizabeth Loftus (* 1944), US amerikanische Psychologin Seán Dublin Bay Rockall Loftus (1927–2010), irischer Umweltaktivist und Politiker William Kennett Loftus (1820–1858), britischer Geologe, Entdecker… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Hazlitt — (10 April 1778 ndash; 18 September 1830) was an English writer remembered for his humanistic essays and literary criticism. Hazlitt was a prominent English literary critic, grammarian and philosopher. He is considered one of the greatest critics… …   Wikipedia

  • William Bligh — (* wahrscheinlich am 9. September 1754 in Plymouth; † 7. Dezember 1817 in London) war britischer Seeoffizier und Gouverneur von New South Wales in Australien. Bekannt wurde er durch die Meuterei auf dem unter seinem Befehl stehenden Schiff Bounty …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Onslow, 4. Earl of Onslow — William Hillier Onslow, 4. Earl of Onslow William Hillier Onslow, 4. Earl of Onslow GCMG (* 7. März 1853 in Old Alresford, Hampshire, England; † 23. Oktober 1911 in Hendon, Middlesex, England), war ein britischer Politiker und von …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Cobb & Associates — William Cobb William L. Bill Cobb (1917 – 17 décembre 1990), est un designer et ingénieur spécialisé dans les montagnes russes. Il était à la tête de la société William Cobb Associates qu il avait fondé. Il est principalement connu pour …   Wikipédia en Français

  • William J. Cobb — William Cobb William L. Bill Cobb (1917 – 17 décembre 1990), est un designer et ingénieur spécialisé dans les montagnes russes. Il était à la tête de la société William Cobb Associates qu il avait fondé. Il est principalement connu pour …   Wikipédia en Français

  • William Cobb — William L. Bill Cobb (1917 – 17 décembre 1990), est un designer et ingénieur spécialisé dans les montagnes russes. Il était à la tête de la société William Cobb Associates qu il avait fondé. Il est principalement connu pour avoir… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Loftus Becker — Loftus E. Becker Jr. is a law professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law, where he teaches criminal law, constitutional law, and a seminar on the Supreme Court. In 1965, he graduated from Harvard College, and in 1969 from the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”