Birgit Arrhenius (, born 25 August 1932) is a Swedish archaeologist and professor

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Stockholm University Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...

. She was a professor of laboratory archaeology, and the first head of the university's Archaeological Research Laboratory. Her work has studied places including

Helgö Helgö is an island in Ekerö Municipality in Stockholm County, Sweden. Helgö is an island situated in Lake Mälaren. The island's greatest width is about , it is about long and covers . Excavations at Helgö The island is perhaps best known fo ...

and

Mälaren Mälaren ( , , or ), historically referred to as Lake Malar in English, is the third-largest freshwater lake in Sweden (after Vänern and Vättern). Its area is 1,140 km2 and its greatest depth is 64 m. Mälaren spans 120 kilometers from e ...

, and she has researched prehistoric ''pressblech'' and garnet ''

cloisonné Cloisonné () is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects with colored material held in place or separated by metal strips or wire, normally of gold. In recent centuries, vitreous enamel has been used, but inlays of cut gemstones, ...

'' work. Arrhenius is a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

, and was in 1992 the recipient of the

Royal Patriotic Society The Royal Patriotic Society ( sv, Kungliga Patriotiska Sällskapet) is a Swedish royal society founded in 1772 in Stockholm, Sweden, by royal charter of King Gustav III of Sweden, with the aim of improving Sweden's economy, particularly agricult ...

's Gösta Berg Medal.

Career

Bronsplåt 2 fr Torslunda sn, Öland (Stjerna, Hjälmar och svärd i Beovulf (1903) sid 103)

Birgit Arrhenius was born Birgit Klein on 25 August 1932. She was one of six children of Gerda Klein and her husband Oskar Klein, a Swedish theoretical physicist who taught at

. Expenses were tight and her father nearly turned down the award of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

until the dean provided for the significant cost of dressing for such an awards ceremony. Arrhenius, like her father, became a professor at Stockholm University. She served from 1986 to 1998 as Professor of Laboratory Archaeology, and was the first head of the Archaeological Research Laboratory, founded in 1976, at the university. She participated in the excavation and publication of finds from archaeological sites at

and Björkö. A 1983 paper suggested a reanalysis of the chronology of the graves found in

Vendel Vendel is a village at Tierp Municipality in Uppland, Sweden. The village overlooks Vendelsjön, a long inland stretch of water near the Vendel river which has its confluence with the river Fyris. Vendel was the site of an ancient royal estate, ...

, and in 1992 she demonstrated through laser scanning that a dancing warrior on one of the

Torslunda plates The Torslunda plates are four cast bronze dies found in the Torslunda parish on the Swedish island Öland. They display figures in relief, representing what are presumed to be traditional scenes from Germanic mythology. The plates are moulds des ...

, cast bronze dies used to make helmet decorations, had had its eye sharply struck out in a possible invocation of the one-eyed Germanic god

Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...

. On 1 October 1991 Arrhenius was elected to the

Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities also called simply the Royal Academy of Letters or Vitterhetsakademin abbreviated KVHAA ( sv, Kungl. Vitterhetsakademien Historie och Antikvitets Akademien or or ) is the Swedish royal ...

, and the following year she was awarded the Gösta Berg Medal, intended for those who have made "outstanding efforts" in the areas of cultural heritage, by the

. Arrhenius is a professor emeritus at Stockholm University.

Publications

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References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arrhenius, Birgit Swedish archaeologists Swedish women scientists 1932 births Living people Swedish women archaeologists Academic staff of Stockholm University Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences