Studying Classical Archaeology and Ancient History in Sweden

Abstract

This article traces the background and gradual growth of the subject of Classical Archaeology and Ancient History in Sweden from the 17th century to the present day. As a university subject it grew out of the study of the realia in connection with the classical languages and was separated as an independent subject as late as 1909. Between the 1920s and the 1970s, large-scale excavations dominated most work. At present, the topics are more varied, better use is being made of the possibilities of the dual nature of the evidence of texts and archaeological material and there is a growing awareness of a new set of problems.