Christian Friedrich Hoffmann

Hoffmann, drawn by August zu Wied in 1808

Christian Friedrich Hoffmann (* 1762 in Braunschweig ; † October 30, 1820 in Neuwied ) was a German mathematician , educator of the "Wiedischen Prinzen" and pioneer of provincial Roman archeology .

Life

Very little is known about his youth and previous positions. In 1789 he was appointed as a mathematics teacher at Neuwied Castle with a military title . Before that, he is said to have studied at the Collegium Carolinum in Braunschweig . In a brief biographical outline, which Prince Carl Emil Friedrich Heinrich zu Wied (* August 20, 1785; † October 4, 1864) wrote in 1831, a research trip is mentioned in which Hoffmann took part with Nathanael Gottfried Leske . He is also said to have translated several "English works, including Pennant arctic zoology ", "although Zimmermann put his name in front of this work" .

From 1791 he was the first to carry out planned excavations in the Roman Limes fort of Neuwied- Niederbieber . He was commissioned by Princess Maria Luise Wilhelmine, Countess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (born May 13, 1747, † November 15, 1823). In the course of the investigations, he continued to refine his methods. As early as 1791 he documented the progress of the excavations in the fort bath of the camp with sketches and drawings. The numerous finds from his investigations formed the basis of the Princely-Wiedische Collection, which is now kept in the LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn . Hoffmann recorded the results of his excavations and came into contact with leading scholars in ancient studies , such as Christian Gottlob Heyne in Göttingen or Friedrich Christian Matthiä in Mainz . With Hoffmann's consent, they published his results in various newsletters, such as the Göttingische Schehrten advertisements . Hoffmann himself also published some of his results. A great deal of information from Hoffmann's written estate was later published by Hofrat Wilhelm Dorow . The table tape in particular set new standards for later archaeological publications.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ an entry in the matriculation book of February 26, 1780, no. 59 could support this statement. A Christian Martin Friedrich Hoffmann from Braunschweig is entered here, whose handwriting corresponds well to the one presented here. In: Matricul des Collegii Carolini. 1745 to 1900. p. 30, no. 59. Digitized version of the TU Braunschweig .
2. ^ Nathanael Gottfried Leske: Journey through Saxony: in consideration of natural history and economy. (Leipzig 1785). Digitized .
3. ↑ Christian Gottlob Heyne: In: Göttingische Gelehre Anzeige, 56. u. Part 57, April 6 and 9, 1812, pp. 553-560; Pp. 561-566. Digitized
4. ^ Christian Friedrich Hoffmann, Something about the strange Roman antiquities discovered in the Neuwied area. In: Wilhelm Aschenberg (Ed.): Niederrheinische Blätter for instruction and entertainment 1, 2nd quarter (Dortmund 1802) pp. 342–363.
5. ↑ Christian Friedrich Hoffmann: About the destruction of the Roemer cities on the Rhine, between Lahn and Wied, by the Germans in the middle of the third century, as the excavations at Neuwied have shown. Second edition, enlarged with a treatise by Director Matthiae (Neuwied 1823). Digitized
6. ^ Wilhelm Dorow: Roman antiquities in and around Neuwied am Rhein, with floor plans, elevations and sections of the fort excavated there, and depictions of the objects found in it. Schlesinger, Berlin 1826. Digitalisat Textband 1826 Tafelband 1827 Digitalisat Tafelband 1827 .

literature

• Christian Friedrich Hoffmann: Something about the strange Roman antiquities discovered in the Neuwied area. In: Wilhelm Aschenberg (Ed.): Niederrheinische Blätter for instruction and entertainment 1, 2nd quarter (Dortmund 1802) pp. 342–363.
• Christian Friedrich Hoffmann: VICTORIA - a rediscovered Roman colony in Germania transrhenana on the Wied, between the Rheine, the Lahn and Sieg. Rhenish Archive for History and Literature 12, Issue 10 (Wiesbaden 1813) 147-172. Digitized
• Christian Friedrich Hoffmann: About the destruction of the Roman towns on the Rhine, between Lahn and Wied, by the Germans in the middle of the third century, as the excavations near Neuwied have shown. Second edition, enlarged with a treatise by Director Matthiae (Neuwied 1823). Digitized
• Friedrich Christian Matthiae: Remains of Roman antiquity in the area around Neuwied. In: Recueil des memoires et actes de la Société des sciences et arts du département du Mont-Tonnere, féante à Mayence. Tome I (Mainz 1804).
• Konrad Schneider / Bernhard Gondorf † / Barbara Winter, The beginnings of Roman archeology in Niederbieber. In: Heinz-Günther Borck / Wolfgang Laufer (eds.): Yearbook for West German State History 22, 1996, pp. 61–94.