Joseph-Marin-''Adolphe'' Noël des Vergers (2 June 1805 – 2 January 1867) was a 19th-century French archaeologist, historian, etruscologist, orientalist and

epigrapher Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

. He was the son of Marin Noël des Vergers, député of the

Yonne Yonne (, in Burgundian: ''Ghienne'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight con ...

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 Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

'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 (, ; or ) , , , , is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenians, Tyrrhenian people identified with the Etruscans of Italy. Geography The sea is bounded by the islands of C ...

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 of the ''comune'' of Piombino (Tuscany, central Italy). As of 2009 its ...

. In 1857, they discovered 19 untouched burial chambers near

Vulci Vulci or Volci ( Etruscan: ''Velch'' or ''Velx'', depending on the romanization used) was a rich Etruscan city in what is now northern Lazio, central Italy. As George Dennis wrote, "Vulci is a city whose very name... was scarcely remembered, ...

, known since under the name '' François Tomb'' whose frescoes evoke the warlike scenes taken from the

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) 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 ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient 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. Despite doubts about his autho ...

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 . 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 manages approximately ...

, his ''History of the Etruscans'' is still very well known in Italy. He is buried at

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

(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, ()

References

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

Biography

Works

See also

Bibliography

References

External links