Chair of Near Eastern Archeology
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History of the Subject

The exploration of the Ancient Orient started in the middle of the 19th century, at first through diplomates or adventurers - and in many cases financed by important European and American museums, which integrated a major part of the finds in their own collections. Around 1900, excavations were continually professionalised, and they were increasingly organised by research companies and universities. Impotant excavations by Germans were carried out in Troja (H. Schliemann), Jericho (C. Watzinger), Babylon (R. Koldewey), Assur (W. Andrae) and in Bogazköy (H. Winckler).

Since the Second World War and the independence of the countries in the Near East, research campaigns have usually been carried out in cooperation with institutions of the host country - and the finds have remained in local museums.

The first chair of Near Eastern Archaeology in Germany was founded in 1949 in Berlin (Moortgat), followed by the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich in 1969 (Hrouda). Barthel Hrouda worked as an associate professor in Munich from 1964 until 1967 and held the professorship from 1969 - when the chair was founded - until his retirement in 1994. Barthel Hrouda died unexpectedly on 19th July 2009, shortly after his 80th birthday.