John Garstang

John Garstang (5 May 1876 – 12 September 1956) was a British archaeologist of the Ancient Near East, especially Egypt, Sudan, Anatolia and the southern Levant.

[1] He was educated at Blackburn Grammar School and in 1895 he obtained a scholarship for Jesus College, Oxford to study mathematics.

He excavated various sites in the vicinity, including the discovery of the great tombs at Beit Khallaf in 1901.

[3] Largely funded by private benefactors, the Institute contained both a library and a museum, intended to support the work of the staff and the teaching of its students.

On behalf of the institute, Garstang excavated sites in Egypt, Sudan and the Near East up to the out break of World War I.

[6] From 1936 to the outbreak of World War II, Garstang excavated Yümük Tepe near Mersin.

[1] In 1948, Garstang founded the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, assisted by other Anatolian archaeologists including Winifred Lamb, and acted as its first director (he was succeeded by Seton Lloyd).

Museum display with artefacts and images relating to John Garstang. A black and white photograph of Garstang is displayed in the centre, under the signature of Garstang and the Garstang Museum logo.
Garstang Museum of Archaeology, University of Liverpool . Redeveloped in 2014, the museum features artefacts and photographs from Garstang excavations in Egypt, Sudan, Anatolia and the Levant.
John Garstang on site at Beni Hassan
John Garstang on site at Beni Hassan , from the glass plate negative collection at the Garstang Museum of Archaeology.
John Garstang's theodolite, Hunterian Museum , Glasgow