Ludwig Berger (archaeologist)

Ludwig R. Berger (also Ludwig R. Berger-Haas; born on January 22, 1933 in Basel ; died on October 16, 2017 there ) was a Swiss prehistoric and provincial Roman archaeologist .

Ludwig Berger first studied history, German and sports at the University of Basel . After graduating as a teacher for secondary schools, he began studying prehistory and early history as well as Roman provincial archeology in Basel, which he continued at the University of Munich and completed his doctorate in Basel in 1958 . The subject of his dissertation , supervised by Rudolf Laur-Belart , was the glass finds from Vindonissa , a Roman legionary camp in the area of ​​today's municipality of Windisch in the canton of Aargau , Switzerland .

In 1958 he took the position of assistant in the excavation of Augusta Raurica , led by Laur-Belart . In addition to taking care of the excavation and cataloging the finds, one of his tasks was to transfer the finds to the Roman Museum in Augst, which had recently been founded . He also took part in other excavations, e.g. B. the late Latène period settlement in " Basel-Gasfabrik ", and in Hégenheim in France . In 1962, Ludwig Berger became head of the Office for Archaeological Soil Research in the canton of Basel-Stadt . In the same year he submitted his habilitation thesis on the medieval craftsmen's settlement on Petersberg in Basel, which he published a year later. At the end of 1963, Berger left the Basel office at his own request in order to devote himself to his own research interests.

From 1964 Ludwig Berger taught and researched first as a private lecturer , from 1967 as a full-time assistant at the Department of Prehistory at the University of Basel. In 1968 he was appointed associate professor for younger prehistory and early history with special consideration of the Roman provinces , and in 1972 he was appointed professor. In this position he taught in Basel until his retirement in 1998.

In addition to the ongoing research on Augusta Raurica, Berger developed a further research focus on the hill settlements of the Swiss Jura , which provided important knowledge about the settlement history of north-western Switzerland . There were also numerous excavations in the area of ​​the murus Gallicus on the Münsterhügel in the old town of Grossbasel . Shortly before his retirement, he laid the foundations for the research project conducted by three countries on the Roman Oedenburg near Biesheim in Alsace , in which the Universities École pratique des hautes études , Freiburg and Basel were involved.

Publications (selection)

• Roman glasses from Vindonissa (= Publications of the Society for Vindonissa. Volume 4). Birkhäuser, Basel 1960 (2nd edition with the addition: corrected reprint, with an afterword by the author and corrigenda, ibid 1980).
• The excavations at Petersberg in Basel. A contribution to the early history of Basel. Helbing and Lichtenhahn, Basel 1963.
• A Roman brick kiln near Kaiseraugst. With some remarks on the typology of Roman brick kilns (= excavations in Augst. Volume 3). Pro Augusta Raurica Foundation, Basel 1969.
• with Werner Brogli: Wittnauer Horn and surroundings (= Archaeological Guide of Switzerland. Volume 12). Swiss Society for Prehistory and Protohistory, Basel 1980.
• Archaeological tour through Basel (= Archaeological Guide of Switzerland. Volume 16). Swiss Society for Pre- and Protohistory, Basel 1981.
• Studies on our specialist history: Openwork knife case fittings (counter fittings) from Augusta Raurica. A contribution to provincial Roman ornamentation (= research in Augst. Volume 32). Roman town Augusta Raurica, Augst 2002, ISBN 3-7151-0032-X .
• The menorah ring from Kaiseraugst. Jewish evidence of Roman times between Britain and Pannonia (= research in August. Volume 36). Römermuseum Augst, Augst 2005, ISBN 3-7151-0036-2 ( PDF ).
• Guide to Augusta Raurica. 7th edition. Schwabe, Basel 2012.

literature

• Roman city of Augusta Raurica (ed.): Mille fiori. Festschrift for Ludwig Berger on his 65th birthday. Roman Museum Augst, Augst 1998.
• Sylvia Fünfschilling, Beat Rütti: Ludwig R. Berger (1933–2017). In: Journal of Glass Studies. Volume 60, 2018, pp. 341–342.
• Guido Lassau: In memory of «Louis» Berger. In: Annual report of the Archaeological Soil Research Basel-Stadt. 2017, pp. 3–5.
• Georg Matter, Peter-A. Schwarz: Obituary for Ludwig R. Berger (January 22, 1933 - October 16, 2017). In: Annual Report of the Pro Vindonissa Society 2017. pp. 101-105 ( online ).
• Beat Rütti: Ludwig R. Berger (January 22, 1933 - October 16, 2017). In: Annual reports from Augst and Kaiseraugst. Volume 39, 2018, pp. 193-195.
• Peter-A. Schwarz: Obituary for Prof. em. Dr. Ludwig R. Berger (January 22, 1933 - October 16, 2017). In: Yearbook Archeology Switzerland. Volume 101, 2018, pp. 278-279.