Abstract
This article traces the background and gradual growth of the subject of Classical Archaeology and Ancient History in Sweden from the 17th century to the present day. As a university subject it grew out of the study of the realia in connection with the classical languages and was separated as an independent subject as late as 1909. Between the 1920s and the 1970s, large-scale excavations dominated most work. At present, the topics are more varied, better use is being made of the possibilities of the dual nature of the evidence of texts and archaeological material and there is a growing awareness of a new set of problems.
Highlights
The study of classical archaeology and ancient history as a university subject is of relatively recent date beginning with the creation of two chairs of Klassisk fornkunskap oclt anti I ens histot ia (Classical Archaeology and Ancient History) in Lund and Uppsala in 1909 (Brunnsåker 1976:23-27),which, does not mean that important work on classical antiquities was not done before this time
As early as the 17r» century, a classically-minded queen, Christina (1626-89), assembled a significant royal collection of antiquities, foraging all over Europe in order to complement the statues and objects brought to Sweden as spoils from the Thirty Years' War (Callmer 1954; Leander Touati 1998:23f).To further the study of antiquity, she invited to Uppsala University the Strasburg professor lohannes Schefferus (1621-79) (Brunnsåker 1976:20f).In the early 18'" century, an officer of Carl XII, Cornelius Loos (1686-1738), used the opportunity of the King's enforced stay in Bender to investigate Egypt and the Near East; among other places, he visited
196 Charlotte Schefjer tually dealt with the realia of the ancient world, the study of classical archaeology and ancient history was not at a level at all comparable to that of many other
Summary
This article traces the background and gradual growth of the subject of Classical Archaeology and Ancient History in Sweden from the 17'". It almost seems as ifthe wish to put some distance between the new subject and the classical languages resulted in dissertations and other works being based almost exclusively on archaeological sources This trend was further strengthened by the new excavations undertaken from the early 1920s at Asine (192230), Dendra (1926-39),Berbati (1935-38)and Asea (1936-38) and in Messenia (1926-36) and Cyprus (1927-31)(Styrenius 1974; Hägg forthcoming; Åström et al 1994).These were the golden years of Swedish excavation in Greece and it is perhaps symptomatic that almost all these sites have been taken up again by the Swedes. Of the permanent appointments at the four universities of Gothenburg, Lund, Stockholm and Uppsala, more than 50% are held at present by persons who have written dissertations or other important works based on material from Acquarossa or Asine. I wish to thank all rny colleagues in Antikens kultur och samhällsliv, past and present, and especially Brita Alroth, of Uppsala, Robin Hägg, of Gothenbuig, andÖjtan Hikander, of Lund
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
