Samuel Lysons

Samuel Lysons (* 1763, † June 1819 ) was an English antiquarian and engraver.

Lysons visited the Bath Grammar School and then studied law at the Inner Temple in London. From 1798 to 1803 he practiced law. In 1803 he was appointed " Keeper of the Records of the Tower of London ." Of particular interest today are his investigations and excavations of Roman legacies in England. He was a member of the Society of Antiquaries of London, was a Director from 1798 to 1809. Since 1797 he was also a member of the Royal Society. In 1818 he was appointed Professor of Archaeology at the Royal Academy.

Samuel Lysons conducted numerous excavations mainly in Gloucestershire, where he was located. From 1794 he dug from the Roman Villa at Woodchester and the mosaics of the villa, including the largest ever excavated in England mosaic. The excavation was published in 1797 under the title An Account of Roman Antiquities Discovered at Woodchester in the County of Gloucester. The publication is available in large format and contains 40 color prints that document the mosaics of the Villa. Further excavations took place in Colesbourne, Frampton, Rodmarton, Withington and Great Witcombe. An important excavation was the Roman villa at Bignor, where he supervise the excavations from 1811 to 1819.

Writings

• Views and Antiquities of the County of Gloucestershire. 1791
• A Collection of Gloucestershire Antiquities. 1803
• Reliquiae Britannico - Romanae, 3 vols, London 1813-1817