Sir John Evans (1823-1908) was a pioneering figure in the fields of prehistoric archaeology, numismatics and geology. He was a successful businessman with an extraordinary variety of interests, holding high offices in many learned societies.

The Sir John Evans Centenary Project was instituted in 2003 by the Ashmolean Museum to fully document and catalogue the collection and archive of John Evans and to examine the international intellectual networks in which he participated.

The Ashmolean Museum houses both Evans's artefact collection and the documentary archives relating to his pioneering activities in the fields of prehistoric archaeology, numismatics and geology.

The Centenary Project involves:

• conserving and making accessible the documentary archive,
• recording the collection of artefacts in various locations,
• publications,
• and a conference.

This website will be further updated as the project progresses between 2005 and 2008. You can find out more on the Project Progress page, including information on the and how to help this project.

Sir John Evans (1823-1908). Antiquity, Commerce and Natural Science in the Age of Darwin - Forthcoming volume

Portrait of Sir John Evans by John Collier 1905 (Ashmolean Museum)

[Evans] has an excellent library and the largest comparative collection of antiquities from all countries I have as yet seen. (Quote from J.J.A. Worsaae to his wife 10 May 1880)