Heinrich Schliemann discovered the ruins of Troy. Howard Carter found the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings. And Ludwig Borchardt excavated the bust of Nefertiti. Those reflecting on the highlight moments of archaeology may gain the impression that extraordinary discoveries were the privilege of men. This is a misconception, as a traveling exhibition at the LWL Museum of Archaeology and Culture in Herne proves.
The exhibition "A Good Deal of Individuality – Life Paths of Early Female Archaeologists" demonstrates that women have played an important role in antiquity studies in this country from the very beginning. However, similar to many significant monuments of antiquity being buried under the rubble of history only to resurface in more recent times, the contributions of women to archaeology have also faced this fate: Only recently have they begun to receive the attention they deserve. A significant contribution to this is made by the research project "AktArcha – Women in Archaeological Research between Humanities and Natural Sciences: in the Field, in the Laboratory, at the Desk".
Its initiators, Elsbeth Bösl and Doris Gutsmiedl-Schümann from the University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich, have also curated the exhibition currently on display in Herne. It focuses on nine biographies of German female excavators, researchers, and collectors from the 19th and 20th centuries. The presentation is complemented by a virtual exhibition.
One of them is Thekla Crescentia Sedlmaier (1802–1880). Her colored drawings of numerous early medieval finds made in 1844 in Nordendorf (Augsburg district) were recognized for their detail and accuracy, receiving praise in 1859 in the fifth volume of Gustav Klemm's work "Die Frauen. Culturgeschichtliche Schilderungen des Zustandes und des Einflusses der Frauen in den verschiedenen Zonen und Zeitaltern".
Berta Segall (1902–1977) is also among those women who have largely remained under the radar but contributed significantly to their discipline. The Jewish archaeologist and art historian worked for several years at the Benaki Museum in Athens before World War II. She left Germany in 1933, thereby escaping the direct effects of the Nazi racial madness and likely saving her life. Her "Catalog of Goldsmith Works" from the Benaki Museum, published in 1938, is still considered a standard work on the subject.
In the post-war period, for example, Gertrud Dorka (1893–1976) earned particular merits. The director of the Berlin Museum of Prehistory and Early History saved numerous archaeological exhibits from the rubble of World War II and advanced their scientific investigations. In her honor, there is the "Gertrud-Dorka-Weg" in Berlin-Neukölln.
