Asbjørn Herteig (15 February 1919 – 2 October 2006) was a Norwegian archeologist. He was the first curator at the Bryggen Museum and affiliated with the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...

Biography

He was born in

Hadsel Municipality Hadsel () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Vesterålen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of ...

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

, Norway. In 1952, he took his

magister degree A magister degree (also magistar, female form: magistra; from , "teacher") is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education. The magister degree arose in medieval universities in Europe and was originally equal to the doctorate; ...

archeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolo ...

at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

. Through this work, Herteig was a pioneer in the field of Norwegian

medieval era In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

archeology. Herteig worked with excavations of

Kaupanger Kaupanger is a village situated along the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the municipality of Sogndal in Vestland county, Norway. It sits along the Norwegian National Road 5, about southeast of the municipal centre of Sogndalsfjøra and a ...

on the island of

Veøya Veøya is an island in Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located at a junction of the three main branches of Romsdal Fjord between the island of Sekken and the mainland near the village of Nesjestranda. The island ...

. In particular, he was associated with the excavations of

Bryggen Bryggen (''the dock''), also known as Tyskebryggen (, ''the German dock''), is a series of Hanseatic heritage commercial buildings lining up the eastern side of the Vågen harbour in the city of Bergen, Norway. Bryggen has been on the UNESCO lis ...

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

. Herteig was one of the co-founders of and organisers of

Bryggens Museum Bryggens Museum is a museum located in Bergen, Norway. During 1955, parts of the historic district of Bryggen were ravaged by a fire. During subsequent archaeological excavations a number of objects were uncovered, providing an insight into comm ...

. He also played a crucial role in the founding of Friends of Bryggen. He was decorated Knight, First Class of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

in 1970. Until 1999, Herteig was director of the Bryggen Foundation (''Stiftelsen Bryggen''). From 1960 until his death in 2006, he resided at Christinegård in the Bergen neighborhood of

Sandviken Sandviken is a locality and the seat of Sandviken Municipality in Gävleborg County, Sweden with 26,438 inhabitants in 2023. It is situated about 25 km west of Gävle and lies approximately 190 km north of Stockholm. The rail journey t ...

Selected works

*''Bryggen i Bergen'' (1961) *''The Bryggen Papers'' (1985) *''The Bryggen Papers'' (1985) *''A Medieval Brewery'' (1988) *''The Buildings at Bryggen'' (1990 - 1991)

References

Other sources

'' Excavation of 'Bryggen', the old Hanseatic Wharf in Bergen''

External links

Listing of Publications (Regesta Imperii)Friends of Bryggen websiteStiftelsen Bryggen website
1919 births 2006 deaths People from Hadsel Archaeologists from Bergen University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of the University of Bergen Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal 20th-century Norwegian archaeologists {{norway-academic-bio-stub

Biography

Selected works

See also

References

Other sources

External links