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]
Alan Rowe | |
---|---|
Born | 29 October 1891 |
Died | 3 January 1968 | (aged 76)
Scientific career | |
Fields | Archaeology |
Institutions | Manchester University |
Born in Deptford and raised in Essex, Rowe's work included Egypt, Cyrenaica, Australia, Palestine and Syria.[3]
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 Memphis Saqqara, share a similar theme, such as with Plato's Academy mosaic.[8]