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 The
unexpected discovery of finds from the soil has always
exerted a great fascination. The excavation of archaeological
material was an emotional experience for the finder
which triggered a many-faceted interest in ancient times.
Monumental megalithic tombs, marvellous "thunderbolts",
mysterious ceramic vessels or metal ornaments posed
riddles for the early modern mind. Such curious discoveries
were interpreted both by philosophers and philologists
and their interpretations were embedded in older or
more recent views of the world. Because prehistoric
cremation urns were originally believed to be subterranean
plants, their interpretation as graves of the pagan
ancestors became a competing historical interpretation.
The recognition of archaeological finds as human artefacts
resulted in establishment of excavation as a scientific
method for exploring the ancestry of one's own "fatherland",
of "region" and "nation" beyond
the written tradition. Excavating, collecting and publishing
of artefacts are cultural practices, ways of gaining
and distributing archaeological knowledge. In the early
modern period the increasingly systematic search for
archaeological finds, which were frequently incorporated
into cabinets of curiosities or church libraries, has
left a printed tradition, manageable in size, but, as
far as its reception goes, almost unexplored.
In order to encourage research into
the early history of archaeology and to enhance access
to these rare sources, a bibliographic database has
been established and made accessible in the www. It
contains key texts on archaeological practices and finds
from the soil of the Holy Roman Empire (incl. Switzerland
and Prussia) printed before 1806. The recording of provenances
and marginalia for the individual books provides sources
for the reception of the printed text and for the history
of private libraries of certain early modern scholars.
Books from the holdings of the HAB were fully digitised
and indexed through a special thesaurus. The bibliographical
database, digital images and thesaurus enable web-based
source-readings in the history of archaeology before
1806.
In cooperation with AREA - Archives of European Archaeology
(EU, Culture 2000); Institut national d'histoire de
l'art, Paris; Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte
und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität,
Freiburg i. Br.
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