Benedict Frei

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Benedikt Frei (born October 12, 1904 , † January 3, 1975 in Mels ) was a Swiss prehistoric expert with a focus on prehistory and the Laugen-Melaun culture .

Life

Benedikt Frei was born on October 12, 1904 as the eldest son of Johann Georg Frei and Maria Sofia (née Spirig ) in Diepoldsau-Schmitter. The father was a hand embroiderer, the mother loved reading and teaching her sons. Bendikt attended primary school in Diepoldsau-Schmitter and then secondary school in Altstätten. He received his Matura with distinction from the Sarnen College, which at that time was run by Benedictines. He couldn't afford to study. To do this, he trained as a real-world teacher at the secondary school in St. Gallen . Frei found his first job at the Poligymnasium in Rebstein in the school year 1928/29. In 1930 he took up a position as a real-world teacher in Mels .

In 1935 Bendikt Frei married Maria Rosa Jud from Kaltbrunn and moved into a house above the village of Mels, where they lived until his death. In 1937 Frei first took part in an excavation on the Castels in Mels, where he discovered his love for archeology . By participating in further excavations, he quickly acquired the necessary knowledge, so that in 1938 he was appointed supervisor of the Rhine Valley and the Sarganserland by the newly created Office for Pre- and Protohistory. He owes , for example, the early finds from the Rossheld depot near Mels.

In 1966 Frei was appointed canton archaeologist by the government council of the canton of St. Gallen, on the initiative of Hans Brunner. In the meantime he had set up a small museum in the school building in Mels, with finds from the Sargans region. Under his direction, excavations at the Roman villa in Mels and archaeological research in the Holy Cross Church in Uznach , in the parish church of St. Georg in Marbach and in the parish church of St. Johann in Montlingen took place. At the request of the Einsiedeln monastery , he explored the church of St. Peter on the island of Ufenau in Lake Constance .

After retiring, Frei began to write a treatise on the prehistory and early history of the Rhine Valley, which he was unable to complete. In 1968 he gave a lecture at the annual meeting of the Swiss Society for Prehistory and Protohistory, which is now part of his legacy in printed form. In 1971 he suffered a stroke from which he could no longer recover, so that he had to be cared for by his wife Maria until his death on January 3, 1975. He was buried in the cemetery of his home community in Diepoldsau .

Services

  • Benedikt Frei taught math and science subjects at the secondary school in Mels for 36 years. In addition to his work as a teacher, he attended lectures at the University of Zurich and dealt with prehistoric excavations. His work in the cantons of Graubünden and St. Gallen achieved particular fame .
  • In 1966, Bendikt Frei was elected the first St. Gallen canton archaeologist by the St. Gallen cantonal government , which decided at the time to provide state support for archeology in the canton.
  • The University of Zurich gave the in the April 29, 1964 Doctor honrus causa (honorary doctorate), given the importance of his research for frühratischen culture.
  • Frei has been an honorary member of the Historical Association for the Principality of Liechtenstein since 1959. This was given to him in recognition of his services to prehistoric research in Liechtenstein. Frei had a long friendship with the Liechtenstein archaeologist David Beck . Frei was a member of staff and consultant in all of the excavations that Beck carried out. When the Liechtenstein National Museum was rebuilt, he supported it as a scientific advisor.

Works

Benedikt Frei's main work is the excavations on the Montlingerberg . It was his assumption that the excavations could clarify the hotly controversial question of the chronology of Melau ceramics . Frei carried out several excavation campaigns from 1951–1956 and 1960. He was able to prove that the Melau ceramics came from the Bronze Age and not from the Iron Age as previously assumed . Further excavations in the Engadine have proven his results.

Literature (selection)

  • Regula Steinhäuser-Zimmermann: Rheintaler heads . Historical-biographical portraits from five centuries. Ed .: Association for the History of the Rhine Valley. Rheintaler Druckerei und Verlag AG, Berneck 2004, ISBN 3-03300265-X , Benedikt Fehr (1904–1975), Diepoldsau, p. 157-160 .
  • To date the Melaun pottery. In: Journal for Swiss Archeology and Art History . Vol. 15, No. 3, 1954/1955 (1955), pp. 129-173 .
  • with Erwin Rothenhäusler and Dora Fanny Rittmeyer: The Sargans District (= The Art Monuments of Switzerland . Vol. 25 = The Art Monuments of the Canton of St. Gallen. Vol. 1). Birkhäuser, Basel 1951.
  • The archaeological investigation. In: The parish church of St. Johann in Montlingen. (Historical review and report on the restoration 1958/59). sn, Büchel et al. 1959, pp. 19-41.
  • History of St. George's Church, Marbach. In: Our Rhine Valley. 25, 1968, pp. 64-66 .
  • The Roman manor of Sargans (= Archaeological Guide of Switzerland. 3). Swiss Society for Pre- and Protohistory ao, Basel ao 1971.
  • Prehistoric Raetians in the Engadine and Rhine Valley? In: The Rätisches Museum in historical, linguistic and archaeological terms (= series of publications by the Rätisches Museum Chur. 28). Rätisches Museum, Chur 1984, pp. 37–50.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Free, Benedict
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss prehistoric
DATE OF BIRTH October 12, 1904
DATE OF DEATH 3rd January 1975
Place of death Mels