Harald Meller

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Harald Meller (2019)

Harald Meller (born May 10, 1960 in Olching ) is a German provincial Roman archaeologist , prehistoric and state archaeologist of Saxony-Anhalt .

Life

In 1981 he began studying the pros and early history , provincial Roman Archeology and Ethnology in Munich and Berlin , which he in 1987 with the Master of Arts over Celtic graduated grave finds in southern England. In 1993 he received his doctorate in Munich in the subject Provincial Roman Archeology on fibulae from a Celtic- Venetian sanctuary of the Reitia in Este -Baratella in northern Italy.

Since 1991 Meller has been a research assistant at the Institute for Prehistory and Protohistory at the University of Cologne . From 1995 to 2001 he was a regional officer in the State Office for Archeology of Saxony and then became State Archaeologist of Saxony-Anhalt and Director of the State Museum for Prehistory of Saxony-Anhalt in Halle an der Saale. Since 2004, Meller has been director of the State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology of Saxony-Anhalt, which has been merged from two specialist offices . In 2009 Meller was appointed honorary professor for the field of "European Archeology" at the University of Halle .

Harald Meller in 2002 at the presentation of the Nebra Sky Disc

Meller gained notoriety in specialist circles and beyond through his involvement as a lure spy in securing the Nebra Sky Disc found by robbery graves and through its subsequent scientific research. The sky disc exhibited in the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle is considered one of the most important archaeological finds of the 20th century. In 2004 it was presented under Meller's direction in the state exhibition " The Forged Sky - The Wide World in the Heart of Europe 3600 Years Ago ".

Under Meller's leadership, the State Museum in Halle became one of the most important exhibition venues for archeology in Germany, which stood out with numerous exhibitions, for example in 2008 with the state exhibition “Fundsache Luther - Archaeologists on the Trail of the Reformer”. or 2011 “Pompeii, Nola, Herculaneum - Disasters on Vesuvius”.

Harald Meller received the Federal Medal of Merit on April 29, 2009 . Meller's interpretation of the culture at the time of the sky disk also provoked criticism that it was "scientifically highly questionable" and a "completely unreflected application of an archaeological interpretation method that has been scientifically completely discredited for over half a century" of settlement archeology of the early 20th century. His views on the treasure shelves of the German federal states, on how to deal with probe users and on the meaning and scope of archaeological finds are outdated and grossly incorrect.

Writings and editorships

  • The fibulae from the Reitia sanctuary in Este (excavations 1880–1916). Studies on the late La Tène forms / Le fibule del santuario di Reitia a Este (= Il santuario di Reitia a Este. Volume 1 [ i.e .: 1,1]; Studies on prehistoric and prehistoric sanctuaries. Volume 2 [i.e.: 2,1]) . Nünnerich-Asmus, Mainz am Rhein 2002, DNB 966020774 ; von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein 2002, ISBN 3-8053-2822-2 (Zugl .: München, Univ., Diss., 1993, u.d.T .: Harald Meller: Studies on late La Tène period fibula forms from the Reitia sanctuary of Este-Baratella ).
  • (as ed. of) Beauty, Power and Death. 120 finds from 120 years of the State Museum for Prehistory in Halle. Accompanying volume for the special exhibition from December 11, 2001 to April 28, 2002 in the State Museum for Prehistory in Halle. Photos by Juraj Liptak. State Office for Archeology Saxony-Anhalt, Halle (Saale) 2001, ISBN 3-910010-64-4 .
  • (as ed. by) Arnold Muhl: People change. Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic (= State Museum of Prehistory (Halle (Saale)) [Hrsg.]: Booklets accompanying the permanent exhibition in the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle. Volume 2). State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt, Halle (Saale) 2005, ISBN 3-910010-89-X .
  • (as ed. by) Hartmut Bock : Large stone graves in the Altmark. Photos by Juraj Liptak. Theiss, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-8062-2091-3 .
  • (as ed. of) The forged sky. The wide world in the heart of Europe 3600 years ago. Photos by Juraj Liptak. Theiss, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8062-2204-3 (on the exhibitions of the same name, State Museum for Prehistory, Halle (Saale), first exhibition from October 15, 2004 to April 24, 2005).
  • (as edited by) Alexandra Dapper: At the table with Martin Luther. Theiss, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8062-2253-1 .
  • Lost property Luther. Archaeologists on the trail of the reformer. Accompanying volume for the state exhibition of the same name in the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle (Saale) from October 31, 2008 to April 26, 2009. Theiss, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8062-2201-2 .
  • (as publisher of) The Holy Treasure in Halberstadt Cathedral. Photos by Juraj Lipták. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-7954-2117-5 .
  • (Preface to) Thomas Schöne: Tatort Himmelsscheibe: A story with robbers, fences and scholars. 3rd, update Edition. Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle (Saale) 2010, ISBN 978-3-89812-532-1 .
  • with Arnold Muhl and Klaus Heckenhahn: Tatort Eulau. A 4500 year old crime is solved. With Illustr. by Karol Schauer. Theiss, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8062-2401-6 .
  • (as ed. by) Jens-Arne Dickmann : Pompeji - Nola - Herculaneum. Disasters on Vesuvius. Catalog for the exhibition of the same name in Halle, State Museum for Prehistory, December 9, 2011 to June 8, 2012. Hirmer, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-7774-3801-6 .
  • (as ed. with Alfred Reichenberger von) cultural stories from Saxony-Anhalt. Photos by Juraj Lipták. State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt, Halle (Saale) 2011, ISBN 978-3-939414-57-5 .
  • The fibulae from the Reitia sanctuary in Este (excavations 1880–1916). Studies on the late La Tène forms / Le fibule del santuario di Reitia a Este (= studies on prehistoric sanctuaries. Volume 2.2; Il santuario di Reitia a Este. Volume 1.2). Translation into Italian by Umberto Tecchiati and Irene Parnigotto. Nünnerich-Asmus, Mainz am Rhein 2012, ISBN 978-3-943904-07-9 .
  • (as ed. by) Johannes Groht : Menhirs in Germany. Nünnerich-Asmus, Mainz am Rhein 2013, ISBN 978-3-943904-18-5 .
  • with Kai Michel: The Nebra Sky Disc - The key to a lost world in the heart of Europe , Propylaea, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-549-07646-0 .

Web links

Commons : Harald Meller  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Title of the dissertation : Studies on late La Tène period fibula forms from the Reitia sanctuary of Este-Baratella (see bibliography).
  2. ↑ State archaeologist Harald Meller becomes honorary professor. Press release No. 184/2009. (No longer available online.) In: uni-halle.de. July 17, 2009, archived from the original on 20140409195618 ; accessed on December 21, 2019 .
  3. ^ Carsten Heckmann, press office: State archaeologist Harald Meller becomes honorary professor at the Martin Luther University. In: idw-online.de, July 17, 2009, accessed on May 22, 2013.
  4. ↑ Florian Sanktjohanser: It's good that the robbers were such idiots. Twenty years ago two treasure hunters dug up a window and smelled big money. The archaeologist Harald Meller chases the prey from them - and thus saves a world sensation. In: zeit.de , February 1, 2020, accessed on February 4, 2020 (from: Merian . Issue No. 09/2018).
  5. ↑ Luther's lost property. Archaeologists on the trail of the reformer. October 31, 2008–26. April 2009. State Museum for Prehistory, Halle. National exhibition. In: fundsache-luther.de. Retrieved October 6, 2013 .
  6. ↑ Pompeii, Nola, Herculaneum - disasters on Vesuvius. National exhibition. December 9, 2011–26. August 2012. State Museum for Prehistory, Halle. In: lda-lsa.de. Retrieved October 6, 2013 .
  7. ↑ Award. Spiritus Rector of "Marketing the Sky Disc". In: mz-web.de, April 29, 2009, accessed on May 22, 2013.
  8. ^ Raimund Karl : Archaeological Science, Preservation of Monuments or G'schichtldruckerei? In: “Hiltibold” blog from May 26, 2019 ( accessed June 12, 2019), in response to an interview with Harald Meller in Hiltibold, May 9, 2019 ( accessed June 12, 2019).
personal data
SURNAME Meller, Harald
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German archaeologist
DATE OF BIRTH May 10, 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH Olching