Wilhelm Dörpfeld (or
Doerpfeld) (26 December 1853 – 25 April 1940) was a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
architectAn architect is trained and licensed in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e. chief builder...
, best known for his contributions to classical
archaeologyArchaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...
.
Dörpfeld was born in
BarmenBarmen is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal. Formerly an independent town, Barmen joined the newly-incorporated city of Wuppertal in January 1930. The asteroid 118173 Barmen is named in its honour, celebrating the 1934 Synod which issued the Barmen Declaration defining...
,
Wuppertal||-||}Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the Wupper river south of the Ruhr area. Population 361,333 ....
. In 1877 he became an assistant at the
OlympiaOlympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad , the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC...
excavations under
Richard BohnKarl Theodor Richard Bohn was a German archaeological architect born in Berlin.He studied architecture in Berlin, and in 1877 participated in the archaeological dig at Olympia with Friedrich Adler...
,
Friedrich AdlerFriedrich Adler was a German architect and archaeologist.After having studied at the Academy of Architecture in his native Berlin, he began teaching there in 1855, and was soon famous for building churches....
(whose daughter he later married), and
Ernst CurtiusYou may be looking for Ernst Robert Curtius .Ernst Curtius was a German archaeologist and historian.-Biography:...
. In 1882 he joined
Heinrich SchliemannHeinrich Schliemann Heinrich Schliemann Heinrich Schliemann was a German businessman and archaeologist, and an advocate of the historical reality of places mentioned in the works of Homer. Schliemann was an important...
, who was then excavating
TroyTroy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer...
. He continued to work with Schliemann in
TirynsTiryns is a Mycenaean archaeological site in the prefecture of Argolis in the Peloponnese, some kilometres north of Nauplion.-General information:...
(1884–1885), took part in the
AcropolisAcropolis is a neighbourhood of Athens, near the ancient Acropolis, along the Dionysius Areopagitis road. This neighbourhood has s significant number of tourists during the whole year. The new museum of Acropolis has been built in this area....
excavations (1885–1890), the
PergamonPergamon, Pergamum or Pérgamo was an ancient Greek city in modern-day Turkey, in Mysia, today located from the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus , that became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty,...
excavations (1878–1886, with
Carl HumannCarl Wilhelm Humann was a German Engineer, Architect and Archaeologist...
and later from 1900–1913, with
Alexander ConzeAlexander Christian Leopold Conze was a German archaeologist who specialized in ancient Greek art. He was a native of Hannover, and studied at the University of Göttingen. In 1863 he became a professor at the University of Halle, and from 1869 to 1877 worked at the University of Vienna, where he...
), and in the 1931 excavations in the
AgoraThe Agora was an open "place of assembly" in ancient Greek city-states. Early in Greek history , free-born male land-owners who were citizens would gather in the agora for military duty or to hear statements of the ruling king or council. Later, the agora also served as a marketplace where...
of
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
.
Dörpfeld excavated
TroyTroy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer...
in the second campaign (1893–1894).
Wilhelm Dörpfeld (or
Doerpfeld) (26 December 1853 – 25 April 1940) was a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
architectAn architect is trained and licensed in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e. chief builder...
, best known for his contributions to classical
archaeologyArchaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...
.
Dörpfeld was born in
BarmenBarmen is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal. Formerly an independent town, Barmen joined the newly-incorporated city of Wuppertal in January 1930. The asteroid 118173 Barmen is named in its honour, celebrating the 1934 Synod which issued the Barmen Declaration defining...
,
Wuppertal||-||}Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the Wupper river south of the Ruhr area. Population 361,333 ....
. In 1877 he became an assistant at the
OlympiaOlympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad , the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC...
excavations under
Richard BohnKarl Theodor Richard Bohn was a German archaeological architect born in Berlin.He studied architecture in Berlin, and in 1877 participated in the archaeological dig at Olympia with Friedrich Adler...
,
Friedrich AdlerFriedrich Adler was a German architect and archaeologist.After having studied at the Academy of Architecture in his native Berlin, he began teaching there in 1855, and was soon famous for building churches....
(whose daughter he later married), and
Ernst CurtiusYou may be looking for Ernst Robert Curtius .Ernst Curtius was a German archaeologist and historian.-Biography:...
. In 1882 he joined
Heinrich SchliemannHeinrich Schliemann Heinrich Schliemann Heinrich Schliemann was a German businessman and archaeologist, and an advocate of the historical reality of places mentioned in the works of Homer. Schliemann was an important...
, who was then excavating
TroyTroy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer...
. He continued to work with Schliemann in
TirynsTiryns is a Mycenaean archaeological site in the prefecture of Argolis in the Peloponnese, some kilometres north of Nauplion.-General information:...
(1884–1885), took part in the
AcropolisAcropolis is a neighbourhood of Athens, near the ancient Acropolis, along the Dionysius Areopagitis road. This neighbourhood has s significant number of tourists during the whole year. The new museum of Acropolis has been built in this area....
excavations (1885–1890), the
PergamonPergamon, Pergamum or Pérgamo was an ancient Greek city in modern-day Turkey, in Mysia, today located from the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus , that became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty,...
excavations (1878–1886, with
Carl HumannCarl Wilhelm Humann was a German Engineer, Architect and Archaeologist...
and later from 1900–1913, with
Alexander ConzeAlexander Christian Leopold Conze was a German archaeologist who specialized in ancient Greek art. He was a native of Hannover, and studied at the University of Göttingen. In 1863 he became a professor at the University of Halle, and from 1869 to 1877 worked at the University of Vienna, where he...
), and in the 1931 excavations in the
AgoraThe Agora was an open "place of assembly" in ancient Greek city-states. Early in Greek history , free-born male land-owners who were citizens would gather in the agora for military duty or to hear statements of the ruling king or council. Later, the agora also served as a marketplace where...
of
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
.
Dörpfeld excavated
TroyTroy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer...
in the second campaign (1893–1894). He believed that
Heinrich SchliemannHeinrich Schliemann Heinrich Schliemann Heinrich Schliemann was a German businessman and archaeologist, and an advocate of the historical reality of places mentioned in the works of Homer. Schliemann was an important...
had destroyed parts of the upper layers (where he had believed that Troy was) by digging down to the bottom two Troy layers.
In the year 1896 Dörpfeld founded the
German School of AthensThe German School of Athens, or Deutsche Schule Athen , is a coeducational independent, high school in Greece. The school has been in operation since 1896...
, which is also named after him "Dörpfeld Gymnasium".
From 1887 to 1912 he was the director of the German Archaeological Institute in Athens. He died on 25 April 1940 in
LefkadaLefkada, or Leucas is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea on the west coast of Greece, connected to the mainland by a long causeway and floating bridge. The city of Lefkada, is situated on the northern part of the island, approximately 20 minutes by automobile away from Aktion National Airport...
and he is buried at
NydriNydri is a town located in the eastern part of the island of Lefkada, Greece. It is part of the municipality Ellomenos. It is linked with a road linking with Vasiliki and north to Lefkada and with the GR-42 with the mainland...
, where he believed that
OdysseusOdysseus or Ulysses , in Greek mythology , was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey...
's palace is located.
Dörpfeld is considered the pioneer of
stratigraphicStratification is a paramount and base concept in archaeology, especially in the course of excavation. It is largely based on the Law of Superposition...
excavation and precise graphical documentation of archaeological projects.