Manfred Korfmann

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Manfred Osman Korfmann (born April 26, 1942 in Cologne ; † August 11, 2005 in Ofterdingen near Tübingen ) was a German prehistoric archaeologist . He was a professor at the Institute for Pre- and Protohistory at the University of Tübingen . His research focus was on the Copper and Bronze Ages in Anatolia as well as the long-range weapons bow and slingshot . He achieved great fame as the excavation manager at the site that has been called Troy since Frank Calvert and Heinrich Schliemann and is also considered the birthplace of German scientific archeology.

life and work

Professional background

After graduating from high school in 1961, Korfmann began teaching English and history. As a school assistant in Bait Jala (Palestine), his interest in archeology was aroused by the discovery of coins. He then decided to do a second degree, from 1962 to 1970 he studied Prehistory and Early History as well as Provincial Roman Archeology and Ancient History at the University of Frankfurt and the American University of Beirut ; In 1970 he received his doctorate in Frankfurt. 1971/72 he was a research assistant at the University of Frankfurt in the Africa map project of the DFG . From 1972 to 1979 he worked as a research assistant at the German Archaeological Institute, Istanbul Department, among other things with excavations in Demircihüyük, from 1979 to 1982 he was a research assistant at DAI Berlin. In 1980 he completed his habilitation and became a private lecturer at the University of Frankfurt. From 1982 until his death he was Professor of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archeology at the University of Tübingen.

Excavation in Troy

Since 1988 Korfmann led the excavations in Troy . During the excavation campaign, a total of 13,240 square meters of soil was excavated by 370 scientists and their helpers under his leadership. Since Heinrich Schliemann's work on site, Troy has been controversial in terms of its cultural and historical significance within research. Therefore, in 2001/02, Korfmann was at the center of a debate because of his interpretation of the excavation findings, which covered all of German-speaking antiquity . It was only in 1993 that Korfmann accepted Schliemann's interpretation, according to which Homer's Iliad actually describes events that actually took place at this location. In 1994, the Munich geophysicist Helmut Becker made geomagnetic measurements of the earth's resistance and interpreted the result as an indication of an unexpectedly large area of ​​an extensive "lower town" below the Acropolis . Thereupon Korfmann was convinced "that Troy was certainly one of the largest cities in the wide area" and later brought the city into connection with the metropolis Wilusa mentioned in Hittite sources : This was identical to the Homeric "(W) Ilion" ( = Troy).

This interpretation of the results did not go unchallenged , especially among ancient historians . The spokesman for the critics was Professor Frank Kolb , who also teaches in Tübingen . The central point of the dispute ( Troy debate ), in which Korfmann was soon also exposed to attacks on his scientific honesty (“Däniken der Archäologie”), was the question of the real size and significance of the Bronze Age Troy. This was followed by methodological and epistemological questions about the relationship between archeology and ancient history. Korfmann tried above all on the archaeological-practical level, i. H. by the progress of the excavations to support his theses; he was unable to provide a definitive proof. He died during the 2005 campaign, which he was still conceiving but could no longer carry out himself. According to the excavators, the 2006 campaign already confirmed the existence of the fortification trench in the east of the lower town with a change of direction to the north. The controversy about the interpretation of the excavation findings and the importance of the Bronze Age Troy continued even after Korfmann's death.

Merits and projects

In 1996 the archaeologist achieved the establishment of the Troia Historical National Park and two years later Troia was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site . In addition, Korfmann suggested a museum for Troy finds that were previously scattered around the world. Although the Turkish state granted him a lot of help, Korfmann complained (but only softly) that neither the national park was adequately protected nor that the construction of the announced Troia Museum had begun. The fluent Turkish-speaking scientist had adopted Turkish citizenship and the middle name "Osman" in 2003 because of his ties to Turkey and its population; Korfmann's interpretation of his excavation findings was widely welcomed and exploited by Turkish politicians. For 17 years he was able to carry out his excavation campaigns in and around Troy. This enabled him to revive the political myth of the ancient city.

On the basis of his initiative, a large Troy exhibition, "Troy - Dream and Reality", took place in Stuttgart, Braunschweig and Bonn in 2001/2002, which received a lot of media attention. It was visited by around 800,000 people and was the starting point for the intense research discussion already mentioned.

In addition to his excavations in Troia, Korfmann turned to other archaeological sites such as in the Caucasus ( Georgia : Didi Gora, Udabno).

On February 24, 2007, in honor of Manfred Osman Korfmann, his private library of over 5,000 volumes was opened to the University of Çanakkale . It will be available to future Turkish Troy specialists and will be housed in a house that has been specially renovated for this purpose.

Awards and memberships

Fonts (selection)

  • Slingshot and bow in Southwest Asia. From the earliest records to the beginning of the historical city-states , Habelt, Bonn 1972 (Antiquitas, series 3, volume 13), ISBN 3-7749-1227-0 .
  • Tilkitepe. The first approaches to prehistoric research in Eastern Turkey , Wasmuth, Tübingen 1982 (Istanbuler Mitteilungen, Supplement, Volume 26), ISBN 3-8030-1725-4 .
  • Demircihüyük. Architecture, Stratigraphy and Findings , Zabern, Mainz 1983, ISBN 3-8053-0567-2 .

literature

  • Archaeological State Museum Baden-Württemberg: Troy. Dream and reality. Stuttgart, Theiss 2001, 496 pages, 500 mostly in color. Illustrations ISBN 3-8062-1543-X (volume accompanying the exhibition).
  • Commemorative brochure for Prof. Korfmann (with speeches and obituaries), November 12, 2005, 94 pp., 6 illustrations, ISBN 3-935383-91-6 .
  • Hans Günter Jansen (Ed.): The last ring. Epilogue to the "Wall Show". Memories of Manfred Osman Korfmann . bag-Verlag 2006, 94 pages, ISBN 3-935383-91-6 .
  • Frank Kolb : Before Troy, all fictions sink into the dust. Why the archaeologist Manfred Korfmann violates the rules of historical science. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . January 8, 2002.
  • Frank Kolb : Tatort "Troia": History - Myths - Politics , Schöningh, Paderborn 2010, ISBN 978-3-506-77009-7 .
  • Joachim Latacz : Korfmann, Manfred Osman. In: German Biographical Encyclopedia . 2nd Edition. Saur, Munich 2006, ISBN 978-3-598-25030-9 .
  • Joachim Latacz: A Life for Troy. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. August 12, 2005.
  • Joachim Latacz: A Life for Troy - A Life for Troy . On the death of Manfred Korfmann - On the death of Manfred Korfmann, in: Studia Troica . Vol. 15 (2005), pp. V ff.
  • Joachim Latacz: Troy and Homer. The way to solve an old riddle. Munich / Berlin 2001, 6th updated and expanded edition. Leipzig 2010, ISBN 978-3-7338-0332-2 .
  • Manfred Korfmann (1942-2005). In: Eikasmos . Vol. 16, 2005, pp. 405-407.
  • Wall show. Festschrift for Manfred Korfmann. Remshalden-Grunbach, Greiner 2002, ISBN 3-935383-10-X
  • Studia Troica. Troia and the Troas, archeology of a landscape (yearbook 1991 ff.)

Web links

items

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Controversy about the Late Bronze Age Troy (Troia VI and VII) ( Memento from November 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Turkish Troia Foundation opens Manfred Korfmann's specialist library in Çanakkale
personal data
SURNAME Korfmann, Manfred
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Korfmann, Manfred Osman (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German archaeologist
DATE OF BIRTH April 26, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Cologne
DATE OF DEATH August 11, 2005
Place of death Ofter things