Alan Jenvey Rowe (29 October 1891 – 3 January 1968) was a British archaeologist most famous for his studies on ancient Egypt. Rowe was an
Egyptologist and lecturer in Near Eastern Archaeology in
Manchester University.[1][2]
Life
Born in
Deptford and raised in
Essex, Rowe's work included Egypt,
Cyrenaica, Australia, Palestine and Syria.[3]
Career
Excavations
Between 1923 and 1925 he took part in a core expedition to
Giza. He worked from 1928 to 1931 on the pyramid of
Meidum, and surrounding areas, during this time he discovered the first royal
necropolis built in a style of a
royal court. His work ended due to the
Great Depression of 1931.[4]
In 1934 he led an expedition to
Tel Gezer (midway between
Jerusalem and
Tel Aviv), but the locations identified for excavation turned out not to be workable.[5][page needed]
In 1938 he led a team from
Liverpool University to the
Pyramid of Athribis, unfortunately the structure was already in such a heavily damaged state, preventing more thorough examinations.[6] Between 1952 and 1957 Rowe surveyed and excavated tombs of the
Necropolis of Cyrene, in the course of four campaigns.[2] Rowe was the first to make an extensive archaeological study of the Necropolis of Cyrene, however, many artifacts from his excavations are considered to be lost.[7]
Rowe published extensive findings from excavating large parts of the
Serapeum of Alexandria in 1956 together with
B. R. Rees, including a detailed floor plan. Rowe and Rees 1956 suggested that statues found at the Serapeum of Alexandria and
MemphisSaqqara, share a similar theme, such as with
Plato's Academy mosaic.[8]
New Light on Aegypto-Cyrenaean Relations: Two Ptolemaic Statues Found in Tolmeita - l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale (1948).[9]
A Contribution to the Archaeology of the Western Desert: IV - The Great Serapeum of Alexandria (1956) (with B. R. Rees).[8] in: Bulletin of the John Rylands Library; vol. 39
A Contribution to the Archaeology of the Western Desert: I, II & III; in: Bulletin of the John Rylands Library; vols. 36 & 38
Studies in the Archaeology of the Near East: I & II; in: Bulletin of the John Rylands Library; vols. 43 & 44
^Alan Rowe. "Short Report on Excavations of the Institute of Archaeology, Liverpool, at Athribis (Tell Atrib)." Annales du Service des Antiquités Vol. 38 (1938), p. 524.