The archaeological finds from Poland and the Baltic region in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum
Project duration: 2018 – 2020
Partners: Kommission zur Erforschung von Sammlungen Archäologischer Funde und Unterlagen aus dem nordöstlichen Mitteleuropa (KAFU) and Objekte im Netz
Collection
The archaeological collection of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum contains a bundle of finds from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and the Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia, which are little-known to the public. Most of these archaeological finds came to Nuremberg during the second half of the 19th century when these regions were either part of the German Kaiserreich or were inhabited by a large German-speaking community. The finds cover a chronological range from the Palaeolithic to the Middle Ages.
Project
The international project aims at the digital recording and scientific evaluation of the Polish and Baltic finds in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum. Of crucial importance is the localization and identification of the findspots whose names have to be updated as they usually were changed after the Second World War. A special focus is also on the reconstruction of the collection’s history and the reconstruction of the objects’ provenance. The project also wants to determine objects which have been lost during the Second World War. Finally the finds will be evaluated within their regional context.
The project data is accessible in a WissKI database. So this almost forgotten archaeological collection in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum is available for further international research.
LINK DATABASE (in German language only)
Projektmitarbeiter
Dr. Angelika Hofmann (Head of the Project, review of the collection)
Prof. Dr. Wojciech Nowakowski, University of Warsaw – Archaeological Department
Members of the Kommission zur Erforschung von Sammlungen Archäologischer Funde und Unterlagen aus dem nordöstlichen Mitteleuropa (KAFU) Dr. Heino Neumayer (KAFU, editing)
Susanne Rohm (Dipl.-Rest)
Georg Janßen, Photographic Service GNM
Mark Fichtner Dipl.-Inf. (WissKI-Database)
Juliane Hamisch M.A. (WissKI-Database)
Sarah Wagner M.A. (WissKI-Database)
Further Objects of the Researchproject
Harpoon, bone, about 10.000 BC
Silver bracelets with stylised snake-head terminals,
second half of the 2nd century AD