On 5th December, a ceremony was held at the UW to confer an honorary doctorate of the University of Warsaw to Prof. Freiherr Claus von Carnap-Bornheim – an outstanding researcher specialising in the archaeology of central and northern Europe of the first millennium AD.

Prof. Freiherr Claus von Carnap-Bornheim is a researcher whose primary interest is the Roman period. In his work, the archaeologist focuses mainly on three areas: the armament of the barbarian communities, sacrificial sites in Scandinavian armed conflicts of the first centuries AD, and issues related to the identification of the tribal elites of that time. He has analysed the social differentiation and the formation of barbarian elites (the burial of King Childeric I, specimen graves from Mušov), issues of conflict and battlefields (Kalkriese – the site of the defeat of Varus in the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9), as well as cultural centres and peripheries. Recently, he has researched an emporium from the Viking period at Haithabu and Danewerk – a system of medieval marsh fortifications across the Jutland Peninsula. Thanks to his efforts, Haithabu and Danewerk have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Prof. Freiherr Claus von Carnap-Bornheim completed his studies at the University of Marburg, where he also defended his doctoral thesis on goldsmiths’ wares from swamp finds in southern Scandinavia and a habilitation thesis “Studies on the Younger Roman Period in Barbaricum”. He obtained the title of professor at the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel. The archaeologist is an author or a co-author of 180 publications, and an editor or a publisher of more than 30 monographs.

World-renowned science organiser

Prof. Freiherr Claus von Carnap-Bornheim is associated with the scientific, museum and conservation institutions of the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. Since 2009, he has been the director of the Schleswig-Holstein State Museum Foundation at Gottorf Castle.

One of his greatest successes is the creation and management of the Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology. The unit conducts research in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe – from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages. The centre also cooperates with Polish archaeologists, including those from the University of Warsaw. The researchers from both institutions have been involved in carrying out scientific projects concerning, for example, the imitation of Roman medallions or finds of Roman coins from sambar cemeteries. The research resulted in joint publications. As part of the academic exchange, Prof. Freiherr Claus von Carnap-Bornheim hosted many UW employees as well as students and doctoral candidates.

The archaeologist is an internationally respected researcher. For his service, he has been awarded, among others, the Royal Order of Knights by Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden, the Order of the Dannebrog by Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark, and
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by the President of Germany. He holds an honorary doctorate from Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest.