Henry Cousens

Henry Cousens (1854–1933) was a Scottish archaeologist and photographer known for his pioneering work among the monuments and antiquities in British India, particularly in regions that are now Western India and Southern Pakistan. He was born in 1854 to Margaret Fitzmaurice and Henry Cousens Sr, in Renfrewshire, Scotland, UK. After his studies, he arrived in India and joined the Western division of the Archeological Survey of India in 1881. In 1891, he was promoted to the Superintendent post, where he served for nearly 20 years, retiring in 1910. He built a team of artists and draftsmen, visited remote archaeological and historic sites in impoverished regions with hardly any transport infrastructure. He surveyed the ruins and sites, documented and photographed caves, temples, and antiquarian remains of Buddhist, Hindu and Jaina monuments. He also surveyed medieval era ruins and sites belonging to Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Jainism.