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Below are notable events in archaeology that occurred in 1861.
Explorations
- First scientific investigations of Nalanda Mahavihara in Bihar.
- British archaeologist Alexander Cunningham identifies the ancient city of Vaishali with the present-day village of Basrah in Bihar.
Excavations
- June - First modern excavation of the Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave of Maeshowe on Orkney by James Farrer.
- Excavation of Long Hole Cave in Glamorgan reveals prehistoric flint artefacts.
- Excavation of Umm al-Amad, Lebanon, by Ernest Renan, abandoned when he finds that the ruins are only about two thousand years old.
- Excavation of Vergina by Leon Heuzey.
Publications
- Edward Burnett Tylor - Anahuac: Or Mexico and the Mexicans, Ancient and Modern.
Events
- Archaeological Survey of India founded.
Births
- October 6 - Gaston Cros, French army officer and archaeologist (killed in action 1915)
See also
- List of years in archaeology
- 1860 in archaeology
- 1862 in archaeology