Joseph-Marin-''Adolphe'' Noël des Vergers (2 June 1805 – 2 January 1867) was a 19th-century French archaeologist, historian, etruscologist, orientalist and epigrapher. He was the son of Marin Noël des Vergers, député of the Yonne department.

Biography

While very young he was passionate about science and became the university assistant of the chemist Baron

Louis Jacques Thénard Louis Jacques Thénard (4 May 177721 June 1857) was a French chemist. Life He was born in a farm cottage near Nogent-sur-Seine in the Champagne district the son of a farm worker. In the post-Revolution French educational system , most boys rec ...

. Also passionate about traveling he went to Italy, Greece, the Near East, where he learned Arabic and translated the book ''Une Vie de Mohamed'' by Abou'Iféda. At the request of Louis-Philippe's government, he went to Sicily to trace the history of Islamic occupation. Between 1850 and 1856, he began excavations on the coast of the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

with the help of an Italian archaeologist Alessandro François, enabling him to discover the port of

Populonia Populonia or Populonia Alta (Etruscan: ''Pupluna'', ''Pufluna'' or ''Fufluna'', all pronounced ''Fufluna''; Latin: ''Populonium'', ''Populonia'', or ''Populonii'') today is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Piombino (Tuscany, central Italy). As o ...

. In 1857, they discovered 19 untouched burial chambers near Vulci, known since under the name ''

François Tomb The François Tomb is an important painted Etruscan tomb from the Ponte Rotto Necropolis in the Etruscan city of Vulci, Lazio, in central Italy. It was discovered in 1857 by Alessandro François and Adolphe Noël des Vergers. It dates to the l ...

'' whose frescoes evoke the warlike scenes taken from the

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

which for the first time told the life of the Etruscans. Little known in France despite a prize at his name created by the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute m ...

, his ''History of the Etruscans'' is still very well known in Italy. He is buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery (67th division).

Works

*1837: Abulfeda : ''Vie de Mahomet'', publication, traduction et commentaire, Paris, 1837 *1839: Extrait d'une lettre écrite de Naples, par M. Noël Desvergers, à M. de Larenaudière in ''Nouvelles annales des voyages, de la géographie et de l'histoire ou Recueil des relations originales inédites'', 21. Jg., January–March, (p. 197–204
Read on Gallica
*1841: Abd-ar-Rahman Ibn-Muhammad Ibn-Haldun : ''Histoire de l'Afrique sous la dynastie des Aghlabites, et de la Sicile sous la domination musulmane'', Paris, *1847: ''Histoire et description de l'Arabie'' (dans la collection ''L'univers pittoresque''), Paris
Read on Gallica
*1855: ''Études sur Horace'', *1860: ''Notice sur Borghesi'', *1860: ''Essai sur Marc-Aurèle d'après les monuments épigraphiques'', *1864: ''L'Étrurie et les étrusques ou Dix ans de fouilles dans les Maremmes toscanes'', Paris
volume 1volume 2

Bibliography

* ''Noël des Vergers'' in J. C. F. Hoefer : ''Nouvelle biographie générale depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à nos jours''. Firmin Didot, Paris 1852-1866 * Rosita Copioli : ''Adolphe Noël des Vergers. Un classicista eclettico e la sua dimora a Rimini''. Associazione Adolphe Noël des Vergers, Rimini 1996, ()

External links

Jules Moiroux ''Le cimetière du Père Lachaise''
Paris, S. Mercadier, 1908, (p. 264)

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Noel des Vergers, Adolphe Scientists from Paris French archaeologists Classical archaeologists 19th-century French historians French orientalists Linguists of Etruscan French epigraphers Knights of the Legion of Honour Members of the Société Asiatique Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres 1805 births 1867 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Etruscologists