Helmut Schläger

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Helmut Schläger (born March 18, 1924 in Kalsching ; † July 9, 1969 in front of Lipari ) was a German building researcher and pioneer of underwater archeology .

Life

Helmut Schläger was the son of a teacher. He studied architecture at the Technical University of Munich , where Friedrich Krauss became his most important teacher. Krauss made Schläger an assistant at an early stage and was quickly employed in courses. The doctorate took place in 1957 with a thesis on The West Gate of Paestum (Porta Marina) . In recognition of this work, he received a travel grant from the German Archaeological Institute . During this time he took part in the recently initiated excavation of the Rome Department of the German Archaeological Institute in Rusellae . At this time, several work contracts with the German Archaeological Institute followed, which allowed him to take part in excavations organized by the organization, including in Pergamon , Samos and, in particular, as a collaborator with Rudolf Naumann during the excavation in Tacht-e Suleiman . He also took part in Erich Boehringer's so-called Alexanderzug , during which an attempt was made in the second half of 1960 to track down the founding of cities by Alexander the Great .

From May 1961, the time of unstable life ended for Schläger, he became a consultant for building history at the Cairo department of the German Archaeological Institute. Particular mention should be made of the excavation he began in the Menas city . In 1963 he was appointed Second Director of the Rome Department . Soon he began to work as a construction researcher for Italian scientists. He took up parts of the sanctuary at the mouth of the Sele for Paola Zancani Montuoro and dug for Dinu Adamesteanu in S. Maria d 'Anglona and took up buildings for him in Metapont . Vincenzo Tusa commissioned thugs with the reconstruction of the Agora of Selinunte and the investigation of the temple of Segesta .

Schläger made a particular contribution to the research of ancient Greek architecture in Italy. During his research on the city wall of Paestum , he was able to prove a moat and also a prehistoric settlement. In S. Maria d 'Anglona he was able to prove that Pandosia was not in the presumed place, but where he found a sanctuary at the foot of the mountain. Today, however, Schläger's name is particularly associated with underwater archeology; he is considered to be the actual founder of scientific German underwater archeology. He dedicated himself in particular to the exploration of ports. Here he examined, for example, the harbors of Kyme , Anthedon , Side and Phaselis .

He and his assistant Udo Graf died in 1969 during the last planned dive of an investigation off the island of Lipari. His early death prevented him from presenting his research in monographic form, but he has written a significant number of articles for professional journals. Jörg Schäfer published Schläger's studies in a collected form in 1981.

Fonts (selection)

literature

  • Theodor Kraus : Helmut Schläger 1924–1969 . In: Reinhard Lullies , Wolfgang Schiering (Ed.) Archaeologists' portraits . Portraits and short biographies of classical archaeologists in the German language. von Zabern, Mainz 1988, ISBN 3-8053-0971-6 , pp. 287-288.
  • Marcus Prell: On the death of Helmut Schläger and Udo Graf 30 years ago , In: Nachrichtenblatt Arbeitskreis Unterwasserarchäologie 6, 1999, p. 20.