!!!Archäologie

Archeology: Archeology in the narrow sense of the term is the study of 
ancient relics. Originally limited to the art history of Antiquity, 
the concept was broadened to include all finds and not only those of 
artistic, historical or esthetic significance, and to other cultures 
than those directly associated with Antiquity. Accordingly, we now 
speak of prehistoric, classic, provincial-Roman, Christian, medieval 
and urban archeology. What the different aspects of this discipline of 
cultural history have in common is that it relies for its sources 
predominantly on objects obtained through excavations in a given area 
and from a given epoch in combination with written sources. Scientific 
excavations are not confined to the salvaging of significant objects 
but also document the circumstances under which the finds were made by 
means of photographs or drawings. Particular importance attaches to 
stratigraphy, i.e. the close observation of cultural strata formed by 
human action, with due consideration of their chronology. Even though 
archeology had its origin in the humanities and uses their methods, it 
is increasingly using scientific tools.

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The earliest report on archeological finds in Austria is found in the 
annals of the Abbey of St. Florian, which mention a cache of Roman 
gold coins found at Steyr in 1297. Around 1300 a monk of Kremsmuenster 
monastery, Berchtold (Bernardus Noricus) handed down the first copy of 
a Roman inscription on Austrian soil which had been found in the 
course of reconstruction work on the church of St. Lawrence at 
Lorch. From the 15th century onwards, more and more interest focused 
on remains and finds from Antiquity. In the early 19th century, 
archeological finds began to be seen as part and parcel of domestic 
history and the public evinced a renewed interest in its own past. 
Historical societies were founded and provincial museums established 
in Graz, Innsbruck, Linz and Salzburg. The k. k. Central 
Commission for Research into and the Preservation of Art and 
Historical Monuments (Centralcommission zur Erforschung und Erhaltung 
der Kunst und Historische Denkmale), the forerunner of today's 
Bundesdenkmalamt (Federal Office for the Protection of Monuments), was 
founded in 1853. A Chair of Classical Archeology was established at 
the University of Vienna in 1869, followed in 1876 by a Chair of Roman 
history, Antique Studies and Epigraphy, and in 1892 by a Chair of 
Prehistoric Archeology, the first of its kind in the world, which was 
a forerunner of today's Institute of Prehistory and Early History. The 
Oesterreichisches Archaeologisches Institut (Austrian Archeological 
Institute) was founded in 1898.

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Currently, excavations are carried out by the Department of Ground 
Monuments of the Bundesdenkmalamt, the Austrian Archeological 
Institute, university departments and provincial and specialised 
museums. In view of the imminent danger of destruction of 
archeological finds and sites most of the activities aim at salvaging 
and documenting them. Excavations operated by Austrian archeologists 
abroad are situated in  Ephesus (Turkey), Veglia (Italy), Gizah und 
Tell el-Dab"a (Egypt).

!Literature
A. Lippert (ed.), Reclams Archaeologie-Fuehrer 
Oesterreichs und Suedtirols, 1985; M. Kandler and H. Vetters (eds.), 
Der roemische Limes in Oesterreich, 1986; J.-W. Neugebauer, 
Oesterreichs Urzeit, 1990. Reports on archeological research are found 
in: Archaeologia Austriaca, Archaeologie. Oesterreichs, Fundberichte 
aus Oesterreich and Pro Austria Romana.


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