Dr. Aage Rousell, (27 October 1901, Copenhagen – 9 June 1972, Frederiksberg) was a Danish architect, archaeologist and historian."Aage Roussel"
''Dansk Biografisk Leksikon''. Retrieved 23 April 2012. He was best known for his archaeological work in

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

in the 1920s and 1930s, especially for his work on Norse settlements in medieval Greenland.

Biography

Roussell was the son of Rudolf Christian Roussell (1859-1933) and wife Sidse Hansine Nielsen (1868-1941). Roussell became a student at Sankt Andreas Kollegium in

Ordrup Ordrup is a district of Gentofte Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located circa north of the city centre. History Ordrup was originally a small village which only consisted of eight farms and a forge. The area ...

in 1919 and took a degree in philosophy from the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

in 1920. He was admitted to the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts () has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture, and Architecture in Cope ...

from which he graduated in 1922. Roussell participated in archaeological

expeditions in 1926, 1930, 1932, 1934, 1935 and 1937 and an expedition to

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

in 1939. In 1926 Roussell together with cultural historian Poul Nørlund (1888–1951) unearthed 13 skeletons at Igaliku in southern Greenland. In 1932 he returned to Greenland with

Eigil Knuth Count Eigil Knuth (8 August 1903 – 12 March 1996) was a Danish people, Danish explorer, archaeologist, sculptor and writer. He is referred to as the Nestor (mythology)#Advice, Nestor ("elder statesman") of Danish polar explorers. His archa ...

(1903–1996) on an archaeological dig to excavate

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

sites on West Greenland's coast. Roussel, Knuth and Nørlund returned during the summer of 1934, excavating the old Norse ruins again at Igaliku. He returned again in the summer of 1937 with a Polish expedition to the Godthaab district. Roussel became museum inspector at the

National Museum of Denmark The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark, Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from S ...

in 1937 and was from 1949 to 1971 chief inspector and leader of the medieval collection. He authored works including ''Farms and Churches in the Mediaeval Norse Settlement of Greenland'' (1941) He was later a contributor to the '' Arctic Encyclopedia''. During the German occupation of Denmark, Roussel participated actively in the

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through ei ...

. As a result, in 1957 he was appointed head of the newly established Denmark's Liberation Museum 1940-1945 (''Frihedsmuseet''), a position he held until 1971.

References

20th-century Danish historians Historians of Greenland Historians of Denmark 1901 births 1972 deaths People from Copenhagen University of Copenhagen alumni Danish resistance members Architects from Copenhagen 20th-century Danish architects 20th-century Danish archaeologists {{Denmark-historian-stub