Jacob Berzelius and antiquarian research

Abstract

The work of the famous Swedish chemist Jacob Berzelius (1779-1848) at least twice touched upon archaeology. First, he examined the metal content of a number of Bronze Age objects from Denmark, determining that they lay within the ex-pected range of c. 15 parts tin to 85 parts copper. Second, his 1836 examination of the supposed long runic inscription about King Harald Hildetand on the rock-face in Runamo, Blekinge, revealed only natural rock-formation processes. Other sci-entists soon supported him and the reiterated claims by Copenhagen geologist Forchhammer and philologist Finn Magnusen to the contrary were finally crushed by Danish archaeologist Jens Jacob Worsaae in 1844.