1956 in archaeology

Table of years in archaeology
… 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 …
Related time period or subjects
… 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 … … 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s … … 19th century 20th century 21st century …
Art Archaeology Architecture Literature Music Science more In Template:Year nav topic: extra parameters: science

The year 1956 in archaeology involved some significant events.

Explorations

Excavations

• Large University of Pennsylvania project at Tikal begins.
• Excavations of the Neolithic settlement at Argissa Magoula in Thessaly by Vladimir Milojčić of the University of Heidelberg begin (continue to 1958).
• Excavations of the Danubian Neolithic settlement at Bylany in Bohemia begin.
• Excavations at Brahmagiri.
• Excavations at Teppe Hasanlu begin (continue to 1974).

Publications

• Documents in Mycenaean Greek by Michael Ventris and John Chadwick; documenting decipherment of Linear B writing.

Finds

• Anders Franzén locates the Swedish warship Vasa, sunk on her maiden voyage in 1628, in Stockholm harbor.

Miscellaneous

• W. F. Grimes succeeds V. Gordon Childe as director of the University of London Institute of Archaeology.

Deaths

• June 6: Hiram Bingham III, American rediscoverer of Machu Picchu (born 1875).
• September 6: Michael Ventris, English co-decipherer of Linear B (car accident) (born 1922).
• September 12: John Garstang, English archaeologist of the Near East (in Beirut) (born 1876).
• November 9: Alan Wace, English archaeologist who worked on Linear B (born 1879).