Modern archaeology in the context of "History of art"

Pausanias (/pɔːˈseɪniəs/ paw-SAY-nee-əs; Ancient Greek: Παυσανίας; c. 110 – c. 180) was a Greek traveler and geographer. He is famous for his Description of Greece (Ἑλλάδος Περιήγησις, Hēlládos Periḗgēsis), a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from his firsthand observations. Description of Greece provides crucial information for making links between classical literature and modern archaeology, which is providing evidence of the sites and cultural details he mentions although knowledge of their existence may have become lost or relegated to myth or legend.

Johann Joachim Winckelmann (US: /ˈvɪŋkəlmɑːn/ VINK-əl-mahn; German: [ˈjoːhan ˈjoːaxɪm ˈvɪŋkl̩man]; 9 December 1717 – 8 June 1768) was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenist who first articulated the differences between Greek, Greco-Roman and Roman art. "The prophet and founding hero of modern archaeology", Winckelmann was one of the founders of scientific archaeology and first applied the categories of style on a large, systematic basis to the history of art. Many consider him the father of the discipline of art history. He was one of the first to separate Greek Art into periods, and time classifications.

He had a decisive influence on the rise of the Neoclassical movement during the late 18th century. His writings influenced not only a new science of archaeology and art history but Western painting, sculpture, literature and even philosophy. Winckelmann's History of Ancient Art (1764) was one of the first books written in German to become a classic of European literature. His subsequent influence on Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Johann Gottfried Herder, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Hölderlin, Heinrich Heine, Friedrich Nietzsche, Stefan George and Oswald Spengler has been provocatively called "the Tyranny of Greece over Germany".

The Lion Gate (Greek: Πύλη των Λεόντων) is the popular modern name for the main entrance of the Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae in Southern Greece. It was erected during the thirteenth century BC, around 1250 BC, in the northwestern side of the acropolis. In modern times, it was named after the relief sculpture of two lions or lionesses in a heraldic pose that stands above the entrance.

The gate is the sole surviving monumental piece of Mycenaean sculpture, as well as the largest surviving sculpture in the Bronze Age Aegean. It is the only monument of Bronze Age Greece to bear an iconographic motif that survived without being buried underground. It is the only relief image that was described in the literature of classical antiquity, such that it was well known prior to modern archaeology.

The Swedish Cyprus Expedition was assembled to systematically investigate Cyprus’s early archaeological history. The expedition occurred between September 1927 and March 1931 and was led by the three archaeologists Einar Gjerstad, Erik Sjöqvist and Alfred Westholm together with the architect John Lindros who photographed during their time in Cyprus. The excavation constitutes the foundation of modern archaeology in Cyprus. The results of the excavations revealed that the distinctive culture of early Cyprus had been created in close contact with various cultures from the Middle East and the western Mediterranean areas.

Through careful archaeological excavations around the whole island of Cyprus, the Swedish Cyprus Expedition mapped Cyprus's history from the Stone Age to the end of the Roman period. Archaeological excavations were made at various locations in Cyprus including Lapithos, Nitovikla, Agia Eirini, Marion, Idalion, Amathus, and Enkomi. They investigated around 25 sites all over the island during the short time of four years. The results were published in four volumes. Most of the archaeological materials are now kept at the Cyprus Museum in Nicosia and Medelhavsmuseet in Stockholm.

Karl Richard Lepsius (Latin: Carolus Richardius Lepsius; 23 December 1810 – 10 July 1884) was a Prussian Egyptologist, linguist and modern archaeologist.

He is widely known for his opus magnum Denkmäler aus Ägypten und Äthiopien (Monuments from Egypt and Ethiopia).

Miloje Vasić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милоје Васић; 16 September 1869 – 4 November 1956) was a Serbian archaeologist, regarded as one of the most distinguished representatives of the humanistic studies in Serbia.

Professor at the University of Belgrade and member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, he was the first educated Serbian archaeologist, and is considered as the founder of the modern archaeology in Serbia. Also known for his widely eclectic interests outside of archaeology, his most significant accomplishment was discovery of the Neolithic site of Vinča culture in 1905 and subsequent excavation, which began in 1908.

Karl Richard Lepsius (Latin: Carolus Richardius Lepsius; 23 December 1810 – 10 July 1884) was a Prussian Egyptologist, linguist and modern archaeologist.

He is widely known for his opus magnum Denkmäler aus Ägypten und Äthiopien (Monuments from Egypt and Ethiopia), one of the first scientific studies of the pyramids in Giza, Abusir, Saqqara, and Dahshur. His contributions to Egyptology as director of the German Archaeological Instititute and editor of the Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde have had a lasting impact on the field.

The Cyprus Museum (also known as the Cyprus Archaeological Museum) is the oldest and largest archaeological museum in Cyprus, located on Museum Street in central Nicosia.

The museum is home to the most extensive collection of Cypriot antiquities in the world, and houses artifacts discovered during numerous excavations on the island. Its history goes hand in hand with the course of modern archaeology (and the Department of Antiquities) in Cyprus. Of note is that only artefacts discovered on the island are displayed.