Grandsire of Archaeology)[2][3][4] Rice's researches were published as the voluminous Epigraphia Carnatica which contains translations of about 9000 inscriptions he found in the Old Mysore area.

The Rice Memorial Church, located at Avenue Road, Bangalore is named after Rev.

[citation needed] Upon graduating, Rice returned to India where he was appointed Principal of the Bangalore High School (later Central College).

In 1868, he acted as Director of Public Instruction when John Garrett returned to the United Kingdom on leave where he introduced the 'hobli school system' [7] From 1881 to 1883, Rice served as Chief Census Officer for Mysore State and was in 1883, appointed Secretary of the Education Department of Mysore.

As the head of the archaeological department, Rice toured the whole of the state from 1886 till his retirement in 1906, documenting his findings in the Epigraphia Carnatica.

[citation needed] Rice's interest in epigraphy was triggered when in 1873, a certain Major Dixon showed him photographs of a few inscriptions of the area and requested him to provide a translation.

Just before his retirement in 1906, Rice published six volumes of the Biblotheca Carnatica, a collection of major Kannada literary texts.

His grave is at Pinner Road Cemetery, Harrow and reads 'In memory of B. Lewis Rice, C.I.E.