Gerhard Bersu

Gerhard Bersu ( born September 26, 1889 in Jawor (Silesia ), † November 19, 1964 in Magdeburg ) was a German prehistorians. He became famous for work on excavation methodology and its excavations at the Goldberg ( Ries ) and the establishment of the Goldberg III- Group.

Life

The in Frankfurt ( Oder) grown manufacturer's son took at a young age in many excavations in part and received even before graduation as an assistant at the former State Conservation Office in Stuttgart under the direction of Peter Goessler.

First World War and subsequent years

Bersu volunteered in the First World War and was subsequently hired by the occupying German forces in Belgium and northern France to the management of archaeological monuments and collections. In the subsequent peace negotiations, he worked in the German Armistice Commission at Spa and later in the empire return delivery Commission as a consultant for art restitution. In 1925 he received his doctorate with a thesis on the excavations on the mountain widths at Striegau.

National Socialism - exile - internment

Bersu 1929 first second, then in 1931 the first Director of the Roman-Germanic Commission. During National Socialism, he was able to hold until 1935 at this post, and finally, inter alia, at the instigation of Hans Reinerths who wanted to enforce the leadership principle and the strict centralization associated in archaeological organizations to be displaced. Reinerth used Bersus " half - Jewish descent" as defamation argument. Bersu was then added as a speaker for excavations at the Central Directorate of the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin. He emigrated to England in 1937.

After the war

After being released from internment had Bersu 1947-1950 as a professor at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin and the Hill Fort dug out on the Freestone Hill in Co. Kilkenny, then he returned to Germany to here until his retirement in 1956 again as Director of the Roman-Germanic Commission to work. He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Federal Order of Merit in the course of this activity, also honored him in 1962 the British Society of Antiquaries of London with its highest award, the Gold Medal.

Gerhard Bersu died in 1964, after he had to Berlin suffered a stroke during a meeting of the Section of Prehistory and Early History of the German Academy of Sciences.

Excavations

Bersu took, inter alia, Excavations at the following part:

Gerhard- Bersu Scholarship

The foundation " Pro Archaeologia - Saxoniae " has the Gerhard- Bersu Scholarship launched in 2004 to life, to honor the human and professional merits Bersus while promoting promising young archaeologists from Poland, Czech Republic and Saxony.

Publications (selection )

• The excavations of the late Roman fort Altrip. In Germania 10, 1926, pp. 74-75
• The late Roman fort in Altrip. In: Pfälz. Mus. 45, 1928, pp. 3-7.
• The Wittnauer Horn in the canton of Aargau. Its prehistoric and early historic fortifications. Birkhäuser, Basel 1945 ( Monographs on the prehistory and early history of Switzerland 4)
• The late Roman fortification ' Bürgle ' at Grundremmingen. Munich 1964 ( Munich contributions to the Pre-and Early History 10)