The most important excavators
Archaeological research in Hallstatt has a long tradition and includes the participation of many scientists from a wide range of disciplines. Indeed, some of the very first archaeologists documented their excavations in great detail - a practice that would not become common in archaeology until half a century later. These detailed records exist first and foremost thanks to Johann Georg Ramsauer and Isidor Franz Engl. Their delicate watercolors and many drawings contain information which is of great value to modern research. Much less is known about other early sites in Europe where no such documentation was carried out.However, not all Hallstatt researchers were ahead of their time. The Duchess of Mecklenburg may have been among the first women to take part in archaeological research, but unlike Ramsauer and Engl she aimed to uncover as many graves as possible as quickly as possible without worrying about time-consuming documentation. This is one of the main reasons why her contribution to the research work in Hallstatt was criticized, even during her lifetime. Between the 1930s and the 1950s another well-known research personality was involved in excavations at Hallstatt – Friedrich Morton, a cave researcher, travel writer and archaeologist whose work in many different fields took him around the world. The following sub-pages of this website contain information about the most important of the early Hallstatt researchers.
(Loew, C. – Kern, A.)
