Archaeology

Archaeology is the science of reconstructing the human past in regard of their environmental context through the study of material culture. This scientific discipline employs complementary approaches from the humanities and natural sciences.

Today, a distinction is made between preventive and research-based archaeology. Preventive archaeology intervenes prior to land development projects, with the aim of safeguarding our cultural heritage. Research-based archaeology, however, is carried out in the context of scientific research, and can be applied to archaeological sites not threatened by imminent destruction. Research methods vary according to the specific requirements of each type of archaeological inquiry.

Archaeology is based on the practical study of remaining material evidence (identification, function, dating of artifacts and sampling), as well as the context in which these traces of former civilisations were discovered (initial nature, origin of structures, stratigraphic layers, etc.).

Before sampling, these data are methodically documented in the field by a qualified archaeologist, in order to understand the spatial and temporal relationships (chronology) on which the proposed scientific argumentation and interpretation are based, and which can then be verified by other researchers. The newly acquired scientific findings are then published and ideally presented in a museum.

The origins of Luxembourgish archaeology can be traced back to the Renaissance when collections of antiquities were established. Count Pierre Ernest de Mansfeld (1517-1604), governor of the Spanish Netherlands, collected Roman monuments, mainly reliefs of funerary and votive monuments, in the pleasure gardens of his princely palace in Clausen. Later, the brothers Jean-Guillaume Wiltheim (1594-1636) and Alexandre Wiltheim (1604-1684) - regarded as the pioneers of Luxembourg’s archaeology - published a handwritten directory entitled Luciliburgensia Romana sive Luxemburgum Romanum. Published in 1842, this work brought together hundreds of ancient monuments, documented through drawings.

In the mid-19th century, the first "archaeological" excavations were carried out on the site of the Gallo-Roman vicus at Dalheim- "Pëtzel" by the "Société Archéologique", founded in 1845. The results were published in the Publications de la Section Historique, as were all the archaeological discoveries made throughout the Grand-Duchy.

From the 20th century onwards, the focus shifted to the study of prehistory, with numerous excavations carried out in the 1930s under the rock shelters of the Müllerthal region by archaeology enthusiasts N. Van Werveke, M. Hoss and N. Thill, as well as M. Heuertz, future director of the Museum of Natural History. In 1935, one of these excavations led to the discovery of the oldest "Luxembourger". A prehistoric burial dating to the late Mesolithic period was discovered at the foot of a rock shelter in "Loschbour" (municipality of Heffingen) and held the oldest human remains ever found on Luxembourgish territory.

In the mid-1960s, on the initiative of G. Thill, then Director of the State Museums, and thanks to the spectacular Celtic tombs discovered by Abbé Georges Kayser at Nospelt-"Scheierheck" in 1966, a first archaeological department was created, and the first qualified archaeologist was recruited in 1973. Excavation campaigns using state-of-the-art techniques began at the Celtic oppidum of Titelberg (Pétange, Differdange) and the Gallo-Roman vicus of Dalheim (Ricciacum). In 1988, the establishment of four archaeological departments (prehistory, protohistory, the Gallo-Roman period and the medieval period) within the Musée National d'Histoire et d'Art (MNHA) testifies to Luxembourg’s archaeology being officially supported by the State.

In 2011, the Centre National de Recherche Archéologique (CNRA) officially took over the task of inventorying, studying, protecting and promoting the archaeological heritage of Luxembourg, with its creation by Grand-Ducal decree on 24 July 2011 and in 2022, the CNRA would be officially renamed to the current Institut national de recherches archéologiques (INRA).