Our history
A brief survey of our subjects at Uppsala University
Some of the subjects at our department have existed at Uppsala University since the 17th century, while other have been added at a later date. We present them in brief here, with links for further study.
In 1997, the three departments of egyptology, archaeology and classical archaeology and ancient history were joined to form a single department under the name of the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History.
The three subjects had been working from the Gustavianum (now Gustavianum) since 1919. In 1997 the new department moved across the street to Konsistoriehuset next to the Cathedral, and since 2005 our offices and classrooms are in the old buildings of Kemikum, in Campus Engelska Parken, west of the university library Carolina Rediviva.
Since 2013 we also have staff and students at Campus Gotland i Visby.
Archaeology at Uppsala University
Archaeology is one of the Uppsala University's oldest subjects. Johan Bure (1568-1652) can be said to have initiated this type of research in Uppsala, where he both studied and lived. Bure initiated rune research in Sweden, and published several workes on runology. He became the first director (riksantikvarie) of the Swedish National Antiquity.
In the mid 17th century, excavations took place in Gamla Uppsala directed by Olof Rubeck senior. In 1662, Rudbeck's colleague Olof Verelius was appointed professor of Fäderneslandets aktiviteter (Activities of the Motherland). This is one of the earliest appointments in the subject on Europe. However, following the death of Verelius in 1668, the position was not reappointed, even though Uppsala was till active in research into ancient remains. In 1830, Johan Henric Schröder was appointed professor of both literary history and archaeology. Schröder was simultaneously also head university librarian, and the combined professorship ceased when Schröder died.
Sereval prominent researchers who became important for the archaeology subject defended their theses in Uppsala during 1866-1872. One of these scholars, Oscar Almgren, was appointed reader in Uppsala in 1897. Lectures and seminars were held during this period, and a further formallisation of the subject was made by Knut Stjerna, who also was appointed reader in archaeology in 1905.
Following the death of Stjerna, a department of archaeology was finally set up again, called Nordisk och jämförande arkeologi (Nordic and comparative archaeology), where Oscar Almgren was installed as professor in 1914. This was the first university department in archaeology in Sweden. Sune Lindqvist succeeded as professor in 1928-1952, Mårten Stenberger in 1953-1963 and Bertil Almgren in 1965-1984.
In the mid 1980s, the name of the department was changed to Archaeology, with Bo Gräslund as professor (1987-1996). Archaeology was joined with Classical Archaeology and Ancient History and Egyptology in 1997, and in 2000, Ola Kyhlberg became professor. After Kyhlberg's retirement in 2012, Neil Price became professor.
Archaeology also comprised African and comparative archaeology, the professorial chair held by Paul J.J. Sinclair. At Sinclair's retirement, the chair was renamed Global archaeology, and Paul Lane held the professorship 2013-2019.
Further study
Classical Archaeology at Uppsala University
The study of the ancient mediterranean cultures has long been part of Uppsala University and was originally divided between several disciplines.Students and teachers made use of classical texts to illuminate both linguistic and societal issues. Johan Schefferus (1621–1679) laid the groundwork for text critical studies where other topics such as history and topography were also commented on. Early travellers such as Michael Eneman (1676–1714), Jacob Jonas Björnståhl (1731–1779) and Adolf Fredrik Sturtzenbecher (1757–1784) collected new knowledge about inscriptions and monuments.
However, it would be a while before epigraphical, archaeological and iconographical sources resulted in organisational changes at the university. The professor of Greek, Einar Löfstedt (1831–1889), introduced the study of classical archaeology within the frame of his own teaching, and pleaded for a decoupling of archaeology and history from the classical languages.
By a parliamentary decision in 1909, two professorial chairs were established in Klassisk fornkunskap och antikens historia (Classical archaeology and history) in Uppsala and Lund. The first professor in Uppsala was Sam Wide (1861–1918). Following a discussion in UKÄ, the subject's name was changed to Antikens kultur och samhällsliv (Classical archaeology and ancient history). After Wide, seven recruited professors have held the chair, among which Gunnel Ekroth, who assumed the position in 2011, is the latest.
Further study
Egyptology at Uppsala University
Egyptology has a long tradition at Uppsala University, The orientalist Johan David Åkerblad (1763–1819) defended his thesis here in 1782, and his research contributed extensively to the decoding of the Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Egyptology as a discipline was first represented by Karl Piehl (1893–1904) who was appointed reader in Egyptian languages in 1881. His collection of Egyptian ancient artefacts provided the basis for the Victoria museum, established in 1890. Today, the collection is part of the collections at Gustavianum. Piel was awarded a personal professorial chair in Egyptology in 1893.
Torgny Säve-Söderbergh was the first holder of a professorial chair in Egyptology (1950–1980). During this time, owing to the prominent archaeological research conducted through Scandinavian expedition to Sudanese Nubia, the subject gained extensive international visibility. Säve-Söderbergh was succeeded by Rostislav Holthoer (1980–1996) and later by Lana Troy (2000–2011). Since 2018, Andreas Dorn holds the chair in Egyptology.