Austen Henry Layard

閒讀 Jean Bottero & M-J Steve "美索不達米亞" 上海 世紀出版集團 2004
發現整本書多處將著名的英國人 AUSTEN HENRY LAYARD 誤寫成 Henry Austen Layard 真不可思議
他的著作NINEVEH and Its Remains也有兩種不同之翻譯
Wikipedia article "Austen Henry Layard". 很精彩

Sir Austen Henry Layard

(1817–94) [Bi]

British antiquarian whose expeditions and self-taught archaeological methods led to the investigation of sites in the Near East. Born in London and trained as a lawyer, Layard and a friend, Edward Mitford, set out to ride from England to Ceylon in 1839. During this journey Layard became fascinated by archaeology and became an unpaid diplomatic attaché in Constantinople so that he could continue and expand his interests. Between 1845 and 1847 he excavated at Nimrud, Iraq (thinking it was Nineveh), and while his methods were brutal compared with modern standards they were typical of the day and resulted in the discovery of a lot of structural evidence as well as artefacts. His book, Nineveh and its remains, published in 1849 sold well and allowed him to make good contacts. He resumed excavations the same year, and upon his return to England in 1851 prepared a second volume, Discoveries and ruins of Nineveh and Babylon, which appeared in 1853. It included a provisional chronology for the Assyrian kings and a description of their state. Layard subsequently became a politician and then British ambassador in Madrid and later Constantinople.