Joachim Werner (archaeologist)

Life

Werner was born in Berlin, where he took his school finishing examinations at the French High-School, and in 1928 he began his specialist study of Prehistory and Early History, Classical Archaeology and both ancient and middle History. Among his teachers were (among others) Max Ebert and Wilhelm Unverzagt in Berlin, Oswald Menghin in Vienna and Gero von Merhart in Marburg. At Marburg University, he obtained his doctorate on 7 December 1932 with the dissertation Münzdatierte austrasische Grabfunde (Coin-Dated Grave Goods from Austrasia), which under the guidance of Hans Zeiss undertook the project to develop an absolute chronology of the Merovingian period based upon graves which contained (datable) coins. Although it has often had to be revised since then, this work was nevertheless a milestone in the knowledge of the Early Middle Ages.

After the Machtergreifung (Takeover of Power) in 1933, he joined the Nazi Party and the Sturmabteilung, to deflect attention from the fact that his father and grandparents were members of the Romani people.

His appointments and occupations included:

• 1933–1934: Travelling Scholarship with the German Archaeological Institute.
• 1935–1942: Roman-Germanic Commission of the German Archaeological Institute (Participant in the Sadovec excavations).
• 1938: Inauguration as an academic lecturer at the University of Frankfurt, with The Ornamented Discs from the Thorsberg Peat-bog Discovery. A Contribution to the History of Early Germanic Art and Religion, under Hans Zeiss.
• 1939–1945: various calls-up to the Wehrmacht.
• 1942: Professor for Prehistory and Early History at the Straßburg Reichs-University.
• 1945: Military internment in Switzerland, while completing his work on the Alamannic cemetery at Bülach.
• 1946–1947: Deputizing in the academic chair at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München in the absence of Hans Zeiss.
• 1948–1974: Professor at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.
• 1953: Election to formal membership of the Historical Philosophy Class of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences.
• 1990: He received the title of Honorary Doctorate of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland.

His scientific interests included pre-Roman Iron Age and Germanic ethnic origins, late antique fortresses, Merovingian-age cemeteries and richly-furnished graves, Early Medieval Horse Peoples and the art of the Carolingian era. To these he added further similar researches into wealthy graves in South Korea.

From Munich, he was able to lead countless excavation projects, above all in Late Roman fortifications:

• Epfach, 1953–57
• Goldberg bei Türkheim, 1958–61
• Kastell Isny, 1966–70
• Münsterberg Breisach
• Kastell Sponeck bei Jechtingen
• Kellmünz 1986–1993

Additional excavation projects took place in Austria, Italy and Slovenia: Kuchl, Invillino in Friaul, Hrusica und Vranje. The Organizational structure for these excavations was mainly the Commission for archaeological research into late Roman Rhaetia, founded by Werner, at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences.

In the publication of the Cemetery of Mindelheim Werner worked up a chronological typology of belt-buckles, which was later modified by his pupil Rainer Christlein with reference to the cemetery of Marktoberdorf (Market Oberdorf). This remains even now an essential foundation for the chronology of the Merovingian age.

Werner supervised the doctorates of 33 students (including Bernhard Overbeck, Hans-Jörg Kellner and Hayo Vierck) and the inauguration as lecturers of seven colleagues, namely Vladimir Milojčić, Georg Kossack, Hermann Müller-Karpe, Günter Ulbert, Walter Torbrügge, H. Schubart und Volker Bierbrauer.

Werner died in Munich.