Carl Humann

A German engineer who unearthed one of antiquity's grandest monuments, the Pergamon Altar, from a Turkish hillside.

1839–1896 (age 57)·German engineer, architect and archaeologist·Birthday: January 4

Photo: http://www.telemachos.hu-berlin.de/bilder/gudeman/gudeman.html · Public domain

Biography

Carl Humann began his career not as an archaeologist, but as a railway engineer surveying routes in the Ottoman Empire. While working in western Anatolia in the 1860s, he became fascinated by the ancient ruins at Pergamon, a city once ruled by a Hellenistic dynasty. He recognized the immense artistic value of marble frieze fragments being carted away by local villagers for use as building lime. Through persistent lobbying and meticulous excavation from 1878 onward, Humann directed the recovery of the monumental Pergamon Altar, a masterpiece of Hellenistic sculpture depicting the gigantomachy. His work shipped the altar to Berlin, where it became the centerpiece of its own museum, fundamentally reshaping European understanding of Hellenistic art and securing his legacy as the savior of a lost wonder.

#1 When Carl Was Born

The biggest hits of 1839

Carl's Life & Times

The world at every milestone

1839Born

1844Started school

1852Became a teenager

1855Could drive

1857Could vote

1860Turned 21

1869Turned 30

President: Ulysses S. Grant

1879Turned 40

President: Rutherford B. Hayes

1889Turned 50

Eiffel Tower opens in Paris

President: Benjamin Harrison

1896Died at 57

First modern Olympic Games held in Athens

President: Grover Cleveland

Key Achievements

Directed the excavation of the Great Altar of Pergamon, a defining monument of Hellenistic art.
Secured Ottoman permission and funding from the Berlin Museum for the major archaeological campaign.
His efforts transported the altar's monumental friezes to Berlin, where they were reconstructed.
His initial surveys and reports prevented the complete destruction of the marble friezes for lime production.