Botta, Paul Emile (c. 1802-1870)

French archaeologist and diplomat. He was the first archaeologist to excavate in Mesopotamia, now part of modern Iraq. While consul in Mosul 1842, he explored the mound of Kuyunjik, site of the ancient Assyrian capital of Nineveh.

On moving to Khorsabad 1843, Botta uncovered the ruins of an ancient Assyrian palace which yielded substantial amounts of ancient sculpture and textual material, much of which paralleled stories in the Bible.

His chief work was Monuments de Ninive/Monuments of Nineveh 1849-50.

He accompanied the 1830 expedition of Mehmet Ali, viceroy of Egypt, to Sennar in the Sudan as physician. After the posts he held in Iraq, he was appointed consul general in Tripoli, North Africa.