Bücher von William Gell

Classical topographer Sir William Gell (1777-1836) first came to public attention with his Topography of Troy (1804). Based on his travels around Bunarbashi, near to where Schliemann would subsequently excavate, the work became a standard treatise. Byron even wrote: 'Of Dardan tours let dilettanti tell, / I leave topography to classic Gell.' A noted conversationalist and intellectual intermediary, Gell became a Fellow of the Royal Society and, indeed, a Member of the Society of Dilettanti. He also served, in 1803, on a diplomatic mission to the Ionian Islands; his subsequent journey, with the archaeologist Edward Dodwell, through the Peloponnese - then known as the Morea - became the subject of several later books, including Narrative of a Journey in the Morea (1823; also reissued in this series) and this 1817 publication. Comprising a survey of routes through the area, and their natural and archaeological landmarks, it sheds light on both contemporary Greece and the practicalities of early topographical study.

The antiquary Sir William Gell (1777-1836) was most famous for his two books on the archaeological discoveries at Pompeii (also reissued in this series) but his interest in the topography of classical sites is also reflected in this work, first published in 1823. Gell describes his experiences of many visits to the Peloponnese over a period of twenty years, during which the Greek movement for independence from the Ottoman Empire was gathering momentum and widespread support in Europe. Written partly in response to a request to 'give us anything but your dull maps and measures', the book does not discuss archaeological sites in detail but rather records impressions of the lives of the Greek and Turkish inhabitants in the period immediately before the outbreak of war. Gell's own conclusions about the prospects for 'Grecian liberty' are gloomy: he holds it to be 'quite unattainable at the present day'.

This two-volume work and its accompanying map (available to download at http://www.cambridge.org/9781108042109) were first published by the antiquary Sir William Gell in 1834. The book contains alphabetical entries on all the sites in Rome and its environs, with notes on their significance in ancient history and literature.

In this new, two-volume edition of Pompeiana published in 1832, British archaeologist Sir William Gell presents and preserves the most recent findings of the excavations at Pompeii in text and illustration. The first volume focuses on sites such as the city baths, the forum, and the 'temple of Fortune'.