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A major site in Upper Egypt, Abydos, which lies west of the Nile near al-Balyana, was a royal burial site of the first two dynasties and later a major place for the worship of the god Osiris. Excavation of Abydos was begun at the end of the nineteenth century by Emile-Clément Amélineau, but the site is most directly associated with sir william matthew flinders petrie. Grave sites from the archaic period and stelae and ritual architecture of the nineteenth dynasty have been discovered, and excavations continued at Abydos throughout the twentieth century.
Abydos, Egypt
(Spectrum Colour Library)
See also
Egypt: Predynastic; French Archaeology in Egypt and the Middle East
(1904?–1975)
Acosta was born in China, the son of distinguished Mexican diplomat Alfonso Villalobos. He lived and studied for many years in England, where he attended St. Johns College, Cambridge (1924–1925) and befriended classmate and future Mayanist john eric thompson. Acosta’s career as an archaeologist lasted nearly fifty years, from 1928 to 1975.
The long list of sites and regions where Acosta did fieldwork is impressive: Zacaleu, guatemala; Mountain Cow, belize (with Thompson); monte albán, Monte Negro, and other centers in Oaxaca; chichén ítza; Uxmal; palenque; Tres Zapotes (Veracruz); Cholul; Ixcateogpan (Guerrero); Tenayuca; and teotihuacán. His most important investigations focused on three ancient cities, Monte Albán, Tula, and Teotihuacán, where he spent years doing research. In the course of other projects he discovered the famous mural sequence of drinking figures inside the Great Pyramid of Cholula and at Uxmal (Yucatán). He directed an architectural restoration program that greatly influenced the theory and practice of cultural patrimony conservation in mexico. He discovered
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