De ‘biografie’ van de collectie Mauern (1937-1939)

Samenvatting

The ‘biography’ of the Mauern collection (1937-1939). The Groningen Institute of Archaeology has been keeping a collection of 51 Palaeolithic artefacts from Mauern, including five leaf points. These were excavated in 1937-1939 by A. Bohmers, working for Das Ahenenerbe, the ‘heritage branch’ of the SS. After the war, Bohmers worked at Groningen University until 1966. Most of the Mauern finds had already been returned to Germany, in 1951 by A.E. van Giffen and in 1968/1969 by his successor H.T. Waterbolk, but a small ‘study collection’ remained in Groningen. This paper briefly sketches the sometimes bizarre history of the finds and documentation of the Mauern excavation. It is the intention of the GIA to also return the remaining finds in the near future, which then at last will be reunited with the main collection in München.