Earthy Practice: Towards a History of Excavation in Sweden, in the 17th and 18th centuries

Abstract

Excavation as a practice is commonly perceived as an outcome of the development of archaeology as a discipline during the 19th century. In line with this argument, earlier antiquarians, such as Olof Rudbeck and Olof Verelius, were exceptions. In this paper, the author stresses that excavation as a method was established in the late 17th century, only to become a natural practice in the next century. Issues that are ventilated are the circumstances behind this methodological introduction and its characteristics.