Layard, Sir Austen Henry

Layard, Sir Austen Henry (1817-1894), English lawyer and archaeologist who uncovered the palaces of Assyrian kings at Nimrud and Nineveh and who, during a mere half decade of intense labour, effectively laid the foundations of Mesopotamian archaeology. Although Paul Botta was the first to dig at these sites, Layard won his place as the founder of the discipline with his extensive excavations and popular writing.

Layard came to archaeology by virtual accident. Having grown weary of his law studies, he set out in 1839 to seek more stimulating employment in Ceylon, but got no further than the Near East. During his travels, Layard met Botta, who was digging in Assyria and who inspired Layard’s interest in archaeology. After spending two years as an agent of the British Embassy in Constantinople, Layard convinced the ambassador to fund excavation in Assyria.

From 1845 to 1847, Layard dug steadily at Nimrud (which he initially took to be Nineveh), with spectacular results. Foremost among his discoveries were the remains of two palaces, the walls decorated with murals and stone reliefs depicting the deeds of Assyrian kings, and the doorways guarded by monumental stone human-headed winged bulls. The British Museum exhibited these discoveries in 1848, to great public excitement, and Layard presented a best-seller account of his work (Nineveh and its Remains) in 1849. Funded by the British Museum, Layard returned to Assyria in 1849, and worked there until 1851. This time he excavated mostly at Nineveh, where he found Sennacherib’s palace, which contained a library of cuneiform tablets and, in his estimation, some 3 km (2 mi) of wall reliefs. He also explored sites in Babylonia. Soon after his return to England in 1851, Layard described these additional discoveries in several books, two of which are Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon, (1853) and The Monuments of Nineveh (1853).

Then only 36 years old, Layard found his appetite for archaeological discovery sated. He abandoned archaeological exploration for a political career, ultimately becoming ambassador to Constantinople. The Near East captured a mere decade of his youth, but today Layard is remembered for his brilliant discoveries among the ruins of Nimrud and Nineveh, rather than for his more sober achievements in the civil service.