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See Archaeometry; Dating; Douglass, Andrew Ellicot
Although archaeology is a young science, it is rooted in a centuries-old tradition as part of the aristocratic passion for collecting. The princely collections of curios fashionable during the Renaissance also contained prehistoric artifacts. They were few in number, since excavations had not yet begun and treasure hunting was only practiced on a small scale in northern Europe. Objects recognized as archaeological were primarily monuments: grave mounds, dolmens and runic stones, and prehistoric remains were rare in this period. Until the end of the reign of King Christian IV, treasure trove material was regarded as a source of state income and melted down. Not until King Frederik III established his Kunstkammer (Chamber of Arts) in 1663 were treasure troves awarded antiquarian status and placed on exhibition.
This situation changed abruptly after the agrarian reforms of the 1780s, which increased the destruction of burial mounds. Although treasure and hoard finds turned up in newly cultivated areas and were more common, thousands of prehistoric remains were being destroyed. This alarming situation led to the establishment in 1807 of the Royal Commission for Antiquities and a national museum, housed in the loft of the Trinitatis Church in Copenhagen. Questionnaires were sent to all clergy and other interested private citizens to obtain a comprehensive survey of the nation’s antiquities, and the results were published, but museum accessions were still few.
christian jürgensen thomsen, a merchant with no academic qualifications, was appointed secretary of the Royal Commission for Antiquities. He systematically rearranged the museum’s collections, registered accessions, and in 1819 opened the museum to the public via free, weekly, guided tours that he conducted himself. In a short time the museum became an object of great interest throughout Scandinavia. During the fifty years (up to 1865) that Thomsen was in charge—ending as the director of five museums—the foundations of the collections were laid, and the number of accessions rose steadily (in Thomsen’s time there were 540 each year). This led to the acquisition in 1832 of four to five rooms in the Christiansborg Palace and still more in 1838, occasioned by the visit of the Russian czar-prince. Finally, in 1854, the museum was housed in Prinsens Palace, where it is still to be found, having undergone extensive alterations and additions in the 1930s. A major factor in the progress of archaeology was Thomsen’s principle that the collections should be open to everyone and that guided tours could instruct people about the past and create an interest in antiquities among all classes of society. Thomsen thus established a practice fundamental to all museums today.
In this period only a few random excavations were carried out. Finds were acquired primarily from the many destroyed burial mounds, and they were cataloged and exhibited. A lack of transportation prevented frequent field trips, and museum work was carried out on a part-time and unpaid basis until jens jacob worsaae received the first royal appointment to the position of inspector for ancient monuments. Great importance was attached to developing contacts with interested collectors and dealers, through the increasing popularity of archaeology at a time of a national economic depression, and the payment of rewards to the finders.
From 1855 onward a growing number of provincial collections were established. With the collecting activity of King Frederik VII as a model, many aristocratic private collections were established in the decades after 1850, and a corresponding number of private citizens’ collections were begun in towns. An expanding market for artifacts developed. In these decades the destruction of burial mounds reached a climax as a result of the new prosperity and the many subsequent advances in agriculture.
Worsaae became a museum curator in 1866 in the midst of this sudden expansion. He rearranged the collections, and the National Museum, having created new positions and received special grants, began a more systematic excavation
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