Albert Egges van Giffen (14 March 1884 – 31 May 1973) was a Dutch archaeologist. Van Giffen worked at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen in ...

and

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

, where he was a professor of Prehistory and Germanic archaeology. He worked most of his career in the Northern provinces of the Netherlands, where he specialized in hunebeds and

tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

Career

Van Giffen was born on 14 March 1884 in

Noordhorn Noordhorn (Gronings: ''Noordhörn'') is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is part of the municipality of Westerkwartier and is separated from Zuidhorn by the . History Noordhorn is located on a sandy ridge. The settlement on the n ...

to Jan van Giffen, a

predikant Predikant is a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa. Predikant is the Afrikaans term for "pastor". The word 'predikant' is also used in the Dutch, West Frisian, Norwegian and Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or r ...

, and Hendrika Post. He attended the gymnasium in

Zutphen Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some 30 km northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river Ijssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in the 1 ...

and

Sneek Sneek (; fy, Snits) is a city southwest of Leeuwarden and the seat of the former municipality of Sneek in the province of Friesland, Netherlands. As of 2011 it is the seat of the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân (Southwest Friesland). Th ...

. Van Giffen studied zoology and biology at the

between 1904 and 1910. He obtained his doctorate there in 1913 with a German-language thesis titled: "Die Fauna der Wurten" under supervision of J.F. van Bemmelen. Van Giffen was employed as

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

at the

Rijksmuseum van Oudheden The (English: National Museum of Antiquities) is the national archaeological museum of the Netherlands, located in Leiden. It grew out of the collection of Leiden University and still closely co-operates with its Faculty of Archaeology. The ...

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

from 1912 to 1917. He then moved back to Groningen to work at the zoological laboratory. Van Giffen was employed by the University of Groningen as lector Prehistory and Germanic Archaeology from 1930 to 1939, in that latter year he was appointed extraordinary professor. This was followed by a full professorship in 1943. Van Giffen also was an extraordinary professor at the

from 1941 to 1943 and from 1946 until 1954, when he retired. Upon his retirement Van Giffen was named State advisor for the conservation and preservation of hunebeds and restored archaeological monuments. VanGiffen1927.jpg, Dwelling hill, exvacated by Van Giffen (1927) Steen Van Giffen bij D49.JPG, Memorial plaque Foto naar tekening van Prof. van Giffen - Groningen - 20093177 - RCE.jpg, Drawing by Van Giffen

Research

Van Giffen spend most of his career in the Northern provinces of

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

and

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

. Part of his work focused on hunebeds,

and . He was one of the main researchers at the site of

Ezinge Ezinge (Gronings: ''Aisen'' or ''Aizing'') is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Westerkwartier, about 15 km northwest of the city of Groningen. Ezinge is the oldest, constantly inhabited vil ...

. Van Giffen also performed archaeological digs in the city centres of Amsterdam and Groningen. Van Giffen became a member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

in 1932. His collection was donated to the University of Groningen.

Personal life

Van Giffen married Klaziena Geertruida Homan in 1911, the couple had two sons and two daughters before divorcing in July 1938. Half a year later Van Giffen married Guda Erica Gerharda Duijvis, with whom he had no further children. Van Giffen died on 31 March 1973 in

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giffen, Albert Egges van 1884 births 1973 deaths 20th-century Dutch archaeologists Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Zuidhorn University of Amsterdam faculty University of Groningen alumni University of Groningen faculty