German Archaeological Institute Madrid

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Logo of the German Archaeological Institute

The Madrid Department of the German Archaeological Institute (Instituto Arqueológico Alemán) is an archaeological research facility in Madrid that is a department of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI), a federal institution within the Federal Foreign Office .

The research of the DAI Madrid focuses on the archeology of the Iberian Peninsula and western North Africa from prehistoric times to the Islamic Middle Ages. The Madrid department has a library that specializes primarily in the department's work area and is therefore of global interest, one of the largest specialized photo libraries on the Iberian Peninsula, an archive of scientific drawings and a wealth of tools for archaeological work. The current director is Dirce Marzoli , the second director Thomas G. Schattner .

history

The institute was founded in 1943 at the instigation of the art historian and specialist in early Christian archeology, Helmut Schlunk . The research of German ancient historians and archaeologists since the end of the 19th century in Spain and Portugal were certainly important prerequisites for this. In this context Emil Huebner , Adolf Schulten , Hugo Obermaier , Hans Zeiss , Georg and Vera Leisner should be mentioned . The institute was initially housed with two large library rooms in the German Cultural Institute , at that time in Avenida del Generalísimo 35. After the war ended, the library was closed on May 8, 1945 and, like the German Cultural Institute, was sequestered as former imperial property and placed under the supervision of the Spanish representation of the Allied Control Commission. In 1947 the library was transferred to the British Institute , where Helmut Schlunk was, however , always given generous access by the director of the institute and English cultural attachés, Walter F. Starkie . Finally, the institute was able to reopen in 1954. This is mainly thanks to the support of respected Spanish archaeologists, such as Antonio García y Bellido , Antonio Beltrán Martínez and Luís Pericot , who ensured that when the department reopened, a prehistorian was also part of the institute's staff of scientists. On March 5, 1954, the department was inaugurated at Calle Serrano 159 in the El Viso residential complex, where the department is still located today in three Bauhaus-style buildings. In 1982 the Madrid Department of the German Archaeological Institute was awarded the Medalla al Mérito de Bellas Artes en su categoría de oro by the Spanish King Juan Carlos I , and in 2004 the Medalla de la Real Fundación de Toledo , also by Juan Carlos I and the medalla de Honor by the Asociación Española de los Amigos de la Arqueología ( Spanish Association of Friends of Archeology ).

List of directors

The library

The scientific reference library has around 70,000 books and over 500 current journals, mainly on its collection focuses, the archeology of the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco from prehistory to the Islamic epoch as well as related disciplines. The entire holdings from 1997 and parts of the older holdings can be accessed via the ZENON library catalog of the DAI libraries.

The photo library

The Madrid Department Photo Library was founded on the first working day after the Institute reopened on March 3, 1954. Older photos and glass negatives have also been added to the holdings with scientific bequests. The holdings have been digitized since 2002 and have been managed via the Arachne image database since June 2005 .

The publications

One of the main tasks of the DAI Madrid is to make knowledge of archaeological research on the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco and, above all, its own research results known in high-quality publications beyond its own research area.

The annual magazine Madrider Mitteilungen is open to contributions from researchers from all over the world in German, Spanish, Portuguese, English and French. You will pursue research on ancient history with a focus on the archeology of the Iberian Peninsula and Northwest Africa from the Paleolithic to the Islamic Era.

Four monographic series offer the professional world an important basis for research into the institute's field of work, primarily in German-language publications. In the Madrid contributions , excavations and projects of the Madrid department of the German Archaeological Institute are published, in the Madrid researches it is mainly about regional cross-regional studies, while in the Iberia Archaeologica mainly collective works such as conferences and individual studies are also presented by external researchers, The Hispania Antiqua series is aimed at a more general public in order to provide both experts and interested laypeople with an overview of the archeology of the Iberian Peninsula from the Paleolithic to the Islamic epoch.

Projects and events

The current research projects and events of the DAI Madrid are listed on the institute's homepage.

List of current field research projects of the institute:

  • Zambujal , Copper Age fortified settlement (Portugal).

Lisbon branch

In 1971, a branch of the Madrid department was opened in Lisbon , which had to be closed again in 1999 for financial reasons. The library of the branch office will be continued on permanent loan from the Instituto Português de Arqueologia. It is located in the Palácio Nacional da Ajuda . The DAI has had a research center in Lisbon since 2009 on the premises of the Direcção Geral de Património Cultural .

literature

  • Wilhelm Grünhagen: Madrid Department . In: Contributions to the history of the German Archaeological Institute 1929 to 1979 , Part 1. (= The German Archaeological Institute, History and Documents Vol. 3.) Zabern, Mainz 1979. ISBN 3-8053-0396-3 . Pp. 117-165, plates 13-16.
  • Jorge Maier Allende: Iberia Archaeologica. History of the Madrid Department of the German Archaeological Institute. Fascicle 1: Antecedentes y fundación del Departamento de Madrid. (= Iberia archaeologica , Vol. 14, 1.) Zabern, Darmstadt 2013, ISBN 978-3-8053-4287-2 .

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Grünhagen 1979, p. 135.
  2. ^ ZENON catalog of the Madrid department .