Botta, Paul-Émile

Botta, Paul-Émile

▪ French archaeologist
born Dec. 6, 1802, Turin, Piedmont [Italy]
died March 29, 1870, Achères, France

      French consul and archaeologist whose momentous discovery of the palace of the Assyrian king Sargon II at Dur Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad), Iraq, in 1843, initiated the large-scale field archaeology of ancient Mesopotamia.

      The son of a distinguished historian, Carlo Botta, he was educated as a physician. In 1842 he secured an appointment as consul at Mosul, in Ottoman Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), in order to secure a vantage point for discovering the vanished cities of Assyria, which were known at that time only from conflicting accounts of ancient writers and from biblical references. He started to excavate at Quyunjik, opposite Mosul on the east bank of the Tigris River, and he might have unearthed Nineveh had he not been drawn by what appeared to be richer prospects at Khorsabad. A week's digging there revealed the remains of the great palace of Sargon, with its famed winged figures, relief sculptures, and cuneiform inscriptions. After Botta reported to Paris his mistaken belief that he had discovered Nineveh, government support financed further excavation, and the artist E.N. Flandin was dispatched to make on-site drawings of the remains, some of which tended to disintegrate quickly after being unearthed. One shipment of antiquities was sunk in transit, but another reached Paris and the Louvre. Monuments de Ninive . . . (1849–50; “Monuments of Nineveh . . .”) consisted of a volume of Botta's text and four volumes of Flandin's illustrations. Botta subsequently devoted himself to cuneiform scholarship and was consul in Jerusalem (1846) and Tripoli, in Syria (1868).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Botta, Paul Emile — (1802 1870)    A French diplomat and archaeologist who is sometimes called the world s first As syriologist because he was the first person to excavate an Assyrian palace. While working in an official capacity for the French government in iraq,… …   Ancient Mesopotamia dictioary

  • BOTTA, Paul-Emile — (1802–1870)    French doctor and archaeologist who conducted the first large scale excavations in Mesopotamia. Employed as consular agent in Ottoman Mosul, he discovered DurSharrukin, the palace of Sargon IIat Khorsabad (Nimrud) in 1843, having… …   Historical Dictionary of Mesopotamia

  • Botta, Paul Émile — ► (1802 70) Arqueólogo francés. Excavó el palacio de Sargón II en Korsabad (1842 45), descubrimiento que constituyó el punto de partida de la asiriología …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • BOTTA, PAUL ÉMILE —    Assyriologist, born at Turin, son of the preceding; when consul at Mosul, in 1843, discovered the ruins of Nineveh; made further explorations, published in the Memoire de l Ecriture Cunéiform Assyrienne and Monuments de Ninive (1802 1870) …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Paul-Émile Botta — Paul Émile Botta, porträtiert von Charles Émile Callande de Champmartin. Paul Émile Botta (* 6. Dezember 1802 in Turin; † 29. März 1870 in Achères bei Poissy) war der erste Archäologe, der in Assyrien Ausgrabungen durchführte. Seine bedeutendste …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Paul-Émile Botta — Born December 6, 1802(1802 12 06) Turin, Italy Died March 29, 1870(1870 03 29) …   Wikipedia

  • Paul Emile Botta — Paul Émile Botta Pour les articles homonymes, voir Botta. Paul Émile Botta (6 décembre 1802 à Turin, Italie 29 mars 1870 à Achères, France). Il est le fils de l historien Carlo Giuseppe Guglielmo Botta. il se destina dabord à une carrière… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Paul Émile Botta — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Botta. Paul Émile Botta (6 décembre 1802 à Turin, Italie 29 mars 1870 à Achères, France). Il est le fils de l historien Carlo Giuseppe Guglielmo Botta. il se destina dabord à une carrière diplomatique. Son… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Paul-Émile Botta — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Botta. Paul Émile Botta (6 décembre 1802 à Turin, Italie 29 mars 1870 à Achères, France). Il est le fils de l historien Carlo Giuseppe Guglielmo Botta. Il se destina d abord à une carrière diplomatique. Son… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Paul Emile Botta — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Paul Émile Botta. Nació el 6 de diciembre de 1802 y murió el 29 de marzo de 1870. Arqueólogo francés nacido en Turín, Italia. Fue hijo del historiador Carlo Botta. El 8 de mayo de 1827 junto con Auguste Duhaut Cilly …   Wikipedia Español

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