Falko Daim

---

Curriculum Vitae

Falko Daim grew up in Vienna; his parents were Johanna Daim (1927-2013) and Wilfried Daim (1923-2016). After graduating from secondary school, he studied agriculture at the Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU) and at the same time prehistory and early history as well as medieval and modern history at the University of Vienna. His professors were primarily Herwig Friesinger (prehistory and early history), Herwig Wolfram and Karl Brunner (history).

In 1976 he obtained his doctorate with the dissertation "The Avars in Lower Austria". Immediately afterwards, he began excavating the Avar cemetery of Leobersdorf, Lower Austria.

Daim was granted an assistantship at the University of Vienna's Institute of Pre- and Protohistory in 1978, became an Assistant Professor in 1979, completed his Habilitation (post-doctoral lecturing qualification) in 1986 with the monograph "The Avar Cemetery of Leobersdorf, Lower Austria". and was granted the right to teach "Prehistoric and Protohistoric History with Special Emphasis on Early History and Medieval Archaeology".

In 1992, Daim was appointed Associate Professor for Early History and Medieval Archeology; from January 1, 2000, he was University Professor at his home institution, then Chairman of the Institute for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archeology at the University of Vienna as well as, since 1999, Head of the Interdisciplinary Archeology Institute (IDEA). In 2000, IDEA became the Interdisciplinary Research Institute of the University of Vienna (VIAS Vienna Institute of Archaeological Science).

On 1 November 2003 Daim was appointed General Director of the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum in Mainz (RGZM), an archaeological research institute and member of the Leibniz Association. He served in this position until the end of May 2018.

Research

In 1976, Daim began excavating the Avar cemetery of Leobersdorf (Lower Austria), dated to the 7^th and 8^th century AD. The evaluation of the small necropolis (152 graves) made it possible to delineate the chronology of the late-Avar material more finely and - especially by the inclusion of anthropological and archaeozoological data (Silke Grefen-Peters, Braunschweig) - to trace the fate of a small community in the Avar Empire.Zitat The theory-based Leobersdorf monograph, with its interdisciplinary and synthetic approach, still retains its validity. Not only did the study succeed in documenting the slow change in burial customs during the 7th century, evolving from interment in individual graves at a significant distance from one another to burial in a row-grave cemetery, but also refined the typochronology of the Avar archaeological find material for the 8th century. An essential aspect was the comprehensive inclusion of technical examinations of the finds as well as chemical analyses, especially of the non-ferrous metal objects.

From 1985 to 1990, Daim was significantly involved in the research focus of the Austrian Rectors' Conference, "New Paths in Early History Research" (headed by Prof. Dr. Herwig Friesinger and Prof. Dr. Herwig Wolfram), and led a part of it, a comprehensive interdisciplinary project on the history and archaeology of the Avars. In the course of this project, the cemetery of Zillingtal (Burgenland) was excavated, and a series of publications emerged, particularly the historical study by Walter Pohl, as well as a two-volume compilation.

In the project "The Late Antique Cemetery and the Villa of Halbturn, Burgenland" (1988-2004), all prospection methods available at that time (aerial archaeology, magnetometric prospecting, georadar and systematic field survey) were employed, as well as GIS for data storage and evaluation. Geophysical prospection thus became, not least because of this research project, a standard procedure used in advance of archaeological excavations in Austria.  Quote FÖ, Cat. Halbturn, Nives Doneus (RGZM) The Halbturn excavation also is renowned for the discovery of a gold amulet of the 2nd - 3rd century with a Jewish inscription in Greek letters.

Daim's special interests include the history of mentalities, an approach inspired by Patrick J. Geary and a number of French authors. In the intense discussions concerning ethnic interpretations and issues of individuality and group identities in archaeology, he clearly positions himself against premature "ethnic" attributions.

Daim came to Byzantine archaeology through his study of the Avars. In an article entitled "Der awarische Greif und die byzantinische Antike" (The Avar Griffin and Byzantine Antiquity) Zitat, he demonstrated that the griffin, which was a highly favoured motif among the Avars in the first half of the 8th century, had been adopted from the Byzantine realm. Later, in the 8th-century Avar and Moravian find material, he identified original Byzantine belt components, presumably diplomatic gifts.

Daim places particular emphasis on the gold treasure of Sânnicolau Mare (Hungarian: Nagyszentmiklós), which was found as early as 1799 in the Banat (then the Kingdom of Hungary) and was possibly once part of the Avar royal treasure. Together with Peter Stadler and in cooperation with the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, he carried out a long-term project involving the technical and scientific investigation of the 23 gold vessels (Daim - Stadler, catalogue Budapest, Daim - Gschwantler - Plattner - Stadler (Hg.) Conferences RGZM 25, 2015)

Daim's achievements during his service at the RGZM include the renovation of Schloss Monrepos in Neuwied, home of the RGZM's department for the study of the Paleolithic since 1988, the renovation of the Museum of Ancient Seafaring, the establishment in Mayen of the first laboratory for experimental archeology in Germany, and the construction of the new building for the RGZM in Mainz (planned to open in 2020). Together with Jörg Drauschke and Benjamin Fourlas, as well as many cooperating partners at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Daim established a centre for interdisciplinary Byzantine research (ScienceCampus Mainz "Byzantium between Orient and Occident")

Awards

Member of the Zentraldirektion des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Berlin.

Member of Römisch-Germanischen Kommission des DAI, Frankfurt/Main (1. November 2003 bis 31. Mai 2018).

Member of the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (DAI) since 2003.

Member of the Kuratorium für die Forschungsplattform VIAS, Vienna 2003.

Member of the Kuratorium der Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Mannheim.

Honorary Member of the Archäologisches Institut der Rumänischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 2006.

Corresponding Member of the ÖAW 2007.

Member of the scientific advisory board of the ÖAI 2009.

Honorary Member of the Ungarische Akademie der Wissenschaften 2016.

Member of the Österreichisches Archäologisches Institut. (ÖAI).

Corresponding Member of the Slowakische Akademie der Wissenschaften 2009.

Member of the Scientific Council of the Institut für Kulturgeschichte der Antike der ÖAW since 2010.

Publications (Selection)

• mit Andreas Lippert: Das awarische Gräberfeld von Sommerein am Leithagebirge, NÖ. Wien 1984.
• Das awarische Gräberfeld von Leobersdorf, NÖ. Wien 1987.
• Die Awaren am Rande der byzantinischen Welt. Innsbruck 2000.
• mit Ernst Lauermann: Das frühungarische Reitergrab von Gnadendorf (Niederösterreich). Mainz 2006.

Research Projects

• Grabung des awarischen Gräberfeldes von Leobersdorf, Niederösterreich 1977–1983.
• Grabung der germanischen Siedlung in Zaingrub, Niederösterreich, 1981–1985. NÖ Landesmuseum und Bundesdenkmalamt.
• Grabung der spätmittelalterlichen Wehranlage von Walpersbach-Lanzenkirchen 1988–1989 mit Folgeprojekt (Fonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung in Österreich – „FWF“) 1991–1993. Mit Thomas Kühtreiber
• Forschungsschwerpunkt der Österreichischen Rektorenkonferenz „Neue Wege der Frühgeschichtsforschung“ 1985–1990 (Leitung Herwig Friesinger und Herwig Wolfram). Leitung des Teilprojektes zur Geschichte und Archäologie der Awaren, davon wiederum ein Teil war:
• „Das awarische Gräberfeld (und die Siedlung) von Zillingtal, Burgenland“ 1985–2001 (FWF und Burgenländische Landesregierung).
• „Das spätantike Gräberfeld und die Villa von Halbturn, Burgenland“ 1988–2004 (FWF und Burgenländische Landesregierung). Mit Nives Doneus, Wien.
• „Der Schatzfund von Sinnicolau Mare (Nagyszentmiklós)“ 1994–1996 (FWF, gemeinsam mit Peter Stadler).
• „Die Wandmalereien im Regnum Maravorum“ 1998–2000 (FWF, gemeinsam mit Martina Pippal).
• „Der Schatzfund von Vrap in Albanien“ 1998–2000 (FWF, gemeinsam mit Peter Stadler).
• „Das awarische Gräberfeld von Frohsdorf, Niederösterreich“. 2001–2002, 2003–2007. Mit Gabriele Scharrer, Wien.
• „Der Goldschatz von Sânnicolau Mare (Nagyszentmiklós) – Naturwissenschaftliche Untersuchungen und kulturhistorische Auswertung“. 2003–2007 (FWF).
• „Transformation und Kulturaustausch am Rand der mediterranen Welt. Das Bergland der Krim im Frühmittelalter“ (Pakt für Forschung und Innovation im Wege der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft, 2006–2008).
• „Reiterkrieger, Burgenbauer. Die frühen Ungarn und das Deutsche Reich vom 9. bis zum 11. Jahrhundert“ (Pakt für Forschung und Innovation im Wege der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft, 2009–2011), mit Michael Herdick, Rainer Schreg und Bendeguz Tobias.
• "Der byzantinische Mühlen- und Werkstattkomplex in Hanghaus 2 von Ephesos (TR), mit Stefanie Wefers (Pakt für Forschung und Innovation im Wege der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft, ab 2006).
• "Für Seelenheil und Lebensglück: Studien zum byzantinischen Pilgerwesen und seinen Wurzeln" mit Ina Eichner und Despoina Ariantzi (2014–2016).
• "Das kurze Leben einer Kaiserstadt – Alltag, Umwelt und Untergang des frühbyzantinischen Caričin Grad (Iustiniana Prima?)" mit Rainer Schreg.
• SPP 1630 Häfen von der Römischen Kaiserzeit bis zum Mittelalter mit Claus von Carnap (Schleswig), Ursula Warnke (Oldenburg) und Peter Ettel (Jena) (2012–2018).
• SPP 1630 Einzelprojekt "Häfen an der Balkanküste des byzantinischen Reiches".
• "Die Goldbleche des Tutanchamun – Untersuchungen zur kulturellen Kommunikation zwischen Ägypten und Vorderasien." mit Peter Pfälzner (Tübingen) und Stephan Johannes Seidlmayer (DAI Kairo) (2014–2017).
• "Der Preslav-Schatz aus Bulgarien (10. Jahrhundert) mit Antje Bosselmann-Ruickbie (Gießen) (2017–2019).

References

This article "Falko Daim" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Falko Daim. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

---