List of archaeological excavations by date

This is a list of significant archaeological expeditions by date, which include first excavations at important sites, or expeditions that uncovered important objects.

1500s

 * Pompeii - 1599 - Domenico Fontana called when the digging of an underground channel to divert the river Sarno ran into ancient walls covered with paintings and inscriptions.

1600s

 * Ur - 1625 - Pietro Della Valle noted bricks with cuneiform writing and stone seals at the site of Ur.

1700s

 * Julliberrie's Grave - 1702 - Heneage Finch

1810s

 * Babylon - 1811–12 - Claudius Rich

1840s

 * Dur-Sharrukin (Knorsabad) - 1842 - Paul-Émile Botta
 * Ninevah - 1843 - Paul-Émile Botta
 * Ninevah - 1845 - Austen Henry Layard
 * Dur-Sharrukin (Knorsabad) - 1847 - Austen Henry Layard found Sennacherib's palace, and the library of Ashurbanipal

1850s

 * Larsa - 1850 - William Loftus
 * Nippur - 1851 - Austen Henry Layard
 * Borsippa - 1854 - Henry Creswicke Rawlinson
 * Eridu - 1855 - John George Taylor

1870s

 * Troy - 1871-1879 - Heinrich Schliemann conducted two excavations at the site, determining that the city pre-dated the Classical era

1880s

 * Sippar - 1880-81 - Hormuzd Rassam
 * Sippar-Amnanum - Hormuzd Rassam
 * Tell Zurghul - 1887 - Robert Koldewey
 * Lagash - 1887 - Robert Koldewey

1890s

 * Delphi - 1892 - Theophile Homolle, French School of Archaeology

1900s

 * Knossos - 1900 - Arthur Evans
 * Shuruppak - 1902 - Robert Koldewey and Friedrich Delitzsch
 * Gezer - 1902-09 - R.A.S. Macalister
 * Adab - 1903-05 - Edgar James Banks
 * Girsu - 1903-09 - Gaston Cros

1910s

 * Tell al-'Ubaid - Henry Hall

1920s

 * Ngaut Ngaut (also called Devon Downs) - Norman Tindale
 * Mohenjo-daro - Kashinath Narayan Dikshit in 1924–25 and John Marshall in 1925-26
 * Jemdet Nasr - Stephen Langdon

1930s

 * Sutton Hoo - Basil Brown
 * Eshnunna - Henri Frankfort
 * Khafajah - Henri Frankfort

1940s

 * Tell Uqair - Seton Lloyd

1960s

 * Masada - Yigael Yadin
 * Tel Arad - Yohanan Aharoni

1990s

 * Marad - 1990 - Excavations led by Na'el Hannoon

2000s

 * Tulul al-Baqarat - 2008-10 - Ayad Mahir Mahmud

2010s

 * Tell Khaiber - 2013-17