Archaeological Roots Trivia Quiz

Answer: Nineteenth

Although there are examples of a number of archaeological techniques being used earlier, the methodical development of these techniques started in earnest during the 19th century.

Earlier digs that might qualify include a 1738 excavation of the Roman town of Herculaneum sponsored by King Charles III of Naples and Thomas Jefferson's 18th century scientific investigation of a Native American burial mound which earned him the title from some as the "Father of American Archaeology".

Answer: Nabonidus

The Neo-Baylonian period lasted just under 100 years and followed the break-up of the Assyrian Empire. Nabodinus's reign lasted 17 years until Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire, conquered Babylon for the Persians.

How do we know about Nabonidus? In part due to the work of other archaeologists. Written records survive which indicate that Nabondius spent much of his reign carrying out his expeditions and neglecting his kingdom, which he would leave in the care of his eldest son Belshazzar.

Belshazzar gets a mention in the Bible. The Book of Daniel describes how he saw the words "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin" written on the palace walls by a disembodied hand. Daniel translated these as predicting the demise of the kingdom.
The Neo-Baylonian period lasted just under 100 years and followed the break-up of the Assyrian Empire. Nabodinus's reign lasted 17 years until Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire, conquered Babylon for the Persians.

How do we know about Nabonidus? In part due to the work of other archaeologists. Written records survive which indicate that Nabondius spent much of his reign carrying out his expeditions and neglecting his kingdom, which he would leave in the care of his eldest son Belshazzar.

Belshazzar gets a mention in the Bible. The Book of Daniel describes how he saw the words

Answer: Unearthing old buildings

On his trips away from his kingly duties, Nabodinus pursued his interest in Babylon's past by excavating old ruins, displaying artefacts in a museum and restoring several temples. He also attempted to date one of his finds, although he was out by 1,500 years. His motivation may have been to provide historical legitimacy to his irregular accession to the throne.

Many of the surviving records (such as the Nabonidus Chronicle) were written by disaffected priests or his enemies and so tend to paint him in a negative light. He was considered a bit of an oddity. However, his pursuit of the past through excavations resulted in his label as an archaeologist.

Answer: Greek

Herodotus was born in Halicarnassus, a Carian city which is now known as Bodrum, Turkey. During his time, it was within the Persian Empire. His only known work is "The Histories" in which he sets out to record achievements of the Greeks and 'Barbarians' (as he referred to the Persians) and the reasons for the Greco-Persian Wars. His work covers the two centuries leading up to his time and is noted for his systematic and critical approach to collecting the information included.

He is regarded as a historian rather than an archaeologist, although historical archaeology contributed to his works. His works were at some point split into nine books named after the Muses.

Answer: Oral traditions

Archaeology is defined in Oxford Dictionaries as the study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artefacts and other physical remains. Their definition for history is the study of past events, particularly in human affairs. Historical archaeology uses written records and oral traditions as its raw material.

Oral tradition (or folklore) and the science of archaeology do not always sat well together as it can be difficult to test folklore through archaeological evidence. Oral traditions, reflected in texts such as 'The Histories', can help in the interpretation of the archaeological record.

Homer's 'Iliad' is another example of oral tradition set down in writing. He wrote around 750 BC of events at Troy some 400 years earlier, with the Greek Dark Age occurring in between. After 1150 BC the Mycenaean civilisation collapsed and their Linear B writing was lost, so history was passed on orally. Homer's style of writing reflected the formulaic composition of oral bards with the use of hexameter and stock phrases fitting the meter and aiding oral recitation. His epic poem also inspired early archaeologists such as Schliemann and Calvert to find Troy.

Answer: Greek

Pausanias was a Greek who lived when Greece was part of the Roman Empire. He travelled extensively reaching as far afield as the pyramids in Egypt, Jerusalem and Rome. His ten-volume work covers Greece and his antiquarian tendencies are evident in his apparent preference in recording past Greek glories to contemporary (to him) ones. He also recorded oral traditions to support his work. He was the first to write about the ruins of Alexandria Troas, Mycenae and Troy. We only know of his work through two 15th century copies of his writings.

Answer: Study of ancient inscriptions

Epigraphy is a major tool in the archaeologist's armoury. Famous examples where epigraphy has played a part include the Rosetta Stone, which proved to be the key to unlocking the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphs. The Stone was multi-lingual and had Ancient Egyptian hierglyphs, Demotic script and Ancient Greek on the same stele, all saying much the same thing. Most of the development of this science has taken place since the 16th century.

Answer: Stonehenge

The two diggers were William Harvey and Gilbert North. William Harvey was physician to King James I and is best known for being the first to describe the blood circulation system.

Answer: Roman building

Inigo Jones drew much inference from being able to fit a hexagonal pattern into the layout of the inner circle of stones. Referencing the works of the Roman architect Vitruvius, Jones concluded that Stonehenge was the site of a Roman temple to the god Uranus. The 17th century antiquarian John Aubry was perhaps closest with his reasoning that the site predated the concept of architecture and was far older than had been previously considered.

Answer: Sir Walter Scott

Although called "The Antiquary", the antiquarian is not the lead character in this Gothic novel. The antiquarian up to the mid 19th century was seen as different from the historian of the time, who tended to concentrate on written sources and seek to apply the lessons to the then current times. By contrast, as one 18th century antiquarian put it: "We speak from facts not theory."

The modern historian now considers a wider range of sources and in that sense has moved closer to the antiquarian. Today's antiquarians still attract criticism from professional historians who tend to see them as mere collectors who do not carry out meaningful analysis.