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Biography
Heinrich Dressel (June 16, 1845 in Rome – July 17, 1920 in Teisendorf) was a German archaeologist.
He studied under Theodor Mommsen in Berlin, and later received his doctorate from the University of Göttingen with the thesis "De Isidori Originum fontibus" (1874). In 1878 he became a professor at the German Archaeological Institute in Rome, and in 1898 was appointed director of the Münzkabinett (numismatic cabinet) in Berlin.
He is best known for several books on Latin inscriptions, and he is the discoverer of the Duenos inscription, one of the oldest extant examples of Old Latin writing. Dressel also developed a typology for classifying ancient amphorae, based on his pioneering excavations at Monte Testaccio in Rome.
Dressel is also known for his work in numismatics, and was awarded the medal of the Royal Numismatic Society in 1908.