Walter A. Fairservis; Archeologist Found Ancient Lost Cities

Walter A. Fairservis Jr., 73, a pioneering archeologist credited with locating and exploring lost cities, some previously known only through legend. Fairservis joined the American Museum of Natural History in New York in 1941. After World War II, he went on to become a staff archeologist at the museum and in 1949 led the first American archeological expedition to Afghanistan, where he and two colleagues found the ruins of a long-forgotten imperial city. He led a team to Pakistan in 1960 and discovered a ceremonial complex that shed light on the prehistoric inhabitants of the region. During World War II, Fairservis served on Gen. Douglas A. MacArthur’s staff in Japan as a member of Army intelligence. Fairservis said he wrote so many books he could not remember them all. They include “The Roots of Ancient India” in 1969, “The Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile and the Doomed Monuments of Nubia” in 1962 and “The Archeology of the Southern Gobi--Mongolia” in 1993. In Sharon, Conn. on Tuesday.