Johann Michael Ackner (January 25, 1782 – August 12, 1862) was a

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and nature researcher.

Biography

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

born in Schäßburg (Sighişoara), a town in the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

controlled Principality of Transylvania (now part of

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

), Johann Ackner first studied at the college in his hometown. He then went on to study

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

at the Reformed College of Hermannstadt and in 1805 in

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

. However, his studies were interrupted by the occupation of Wittenberg by the troops of the French Empire in 1806. Ackner continued his studies in

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

where he heard among others

Christian Gottlob Heyne Christian Gottlob Heyne (; 25 September 1729 – 14 July 1812) was a German classical scholar and archaeologist as well as long-time director of the Göttingen State and University Library. He was a member of the Göttingen school of history. ...

Johann Friedrich Blumenbach Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (11 May 1752 – 22 January 1840) was a German physician, naturalist, physiologist and anthropologist. He is considered to be a main founder of zoology and anthropology as comparative, scientific disciplines. He has be ...

Johann Beckmann Johann Beckmann (1739–1811) was a German scientific author and coiner of the word technology, to mean the science of trades. He was the first man to teach technology and write about it as an academic subject. Life He was born on 4 June 1739 at ...

and Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren. After finishing his university studies, he traveled by foot through large parts of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. After returning to Transylvania, he worked for 13 years as professor of

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

at the school of Hermannstadt. In 1821, the community of Hermannstadt elected him as priest, which gave him time to follow his studies. He traveled several times between 1832 and 1847 to visit areas of ancient

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...

n history, as well as sites of mineral findings and

petrifaction In geology, petrifaction or petrification () is the process by which organic material becomes a fossil through the replacement of the original material and the filling of the original pore spaces with minerals. Petrified wood typifies this proce ...

s in Transylvania and neighbouring countries. As a result of these travels, he wrote a series of archaeological tracts and tracts on natural history and collected

Roman Dacia Roman Dacia ( ; also known as ; or Dacia Felix, ) was a province of the Roman Empire from 106 to 271–275 AD. Its territory consisted of what are now the regions of Oltenia, Transylvania and Banat (today all in Romania, except the last regi ...

n antiquities, coins, petrifactions and minerals. He often accepted visitors from scientific circles in his parish. In 1851, Johann Michael Ackner was elected as member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. In 1856 he initiated the archaeological research at the ancient Dacian town of

Cumidava Cumidava (also Comidava, Komidava, ) was originally a Dacian settlement, and later a Ancient Rome, Roman military camp on the site of the modern city of Râșnov (15 km from Brașov) in Romania. Etymology After the Roman conquest of Dacia ...

(now

Râșnov Râșnov (; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect: ''Ruusenåå''; Latin: ''Rosnovia'') is a town in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 15,920 as of 2021. It is located at about southwest of the city of Brașov and about the s ...

), where the Romans built a

castrum ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...

after the conquest of

. Ackner died in 1862 in Hermannstadt (Sibiu).

Works

*''Antiqua musei Parisiorum monumenta'', Hermannstadt, 1809 *''Mineralogie Siebenbürgens mit geognostischen Andeutungen'', 1847-1855 *''Die römischen Altertümer und deutschen Burgen in Siebenbürgen mit einer Übersichtskarte'' *''Die Colonien und militärischen Standlager der Römer in Dacien'' *''Die römischen Inschriften in Dacien, gesammelt und bearbeitet von J.W.Ackner und Friedr. Müller'', Vienna, 1856

References

''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ackner, Johann Michael 1782 births 1862 deaths People from Sighișoara Transylvanian Saxon people 19th-century archaeologists Scholars from the Austrian Empire Romanian archaeologists Dacian archaeology Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina