Koldewey, Robert

(1855-1925)

   A German archaeologist best known for his pioneering excavations of the ancient city of Babylon. An architect by trade, Koldewey taught himself the rudiments of archaeology and honed his skills on a series of expeditions to ancient sites in Greece, Italy, and Anatolia. He went to Iraq in the late 1890s and soon introduced a new, more efficient technique for excavating mud-brick structures. Koldewey began digging at Babylon in 1899 and continued there every season until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. He uncovered the foundation of the temple of Marduk, a ziggurat, parts of the city's defensive walls, and much more. He thought he had also found the remains of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, but since that time a number of other scholars have voiced their doubts.

   See also: Assyriology; Babylon; Hanging Gardens of Babylon