Charlotte Blindheim (née Undset, 6 July 1917 – 5 March 2005) was a Norwegian archaeologist. She was the first female member of the scientific staff at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

to be permanently employed when she hired as the museum curator in 1946.

Biography

She was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. She was the daughter of Sigge Pantzerhielm Thomas (1886-1944) and Signe Dorothea Undset (1887-1973). Her father was a classical philologist and lecturer at the University of Oslo. She completed a master's degree in archaeology in 1946 at the

, writing her thesis on Viking costume and jewellery. She was subsequently hired as a curator at the University as the museum's first permanently employed female member of scientific staff. As an archaeologist, Blindheim became particularly known for her work with the excavations at Kaupang in Skiringssal in the former municipality of

Tjølling Tjølling is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. Tjølling was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Together with Brunlanes, Stavern and Hedrum, it was merged into Larvik on January 1, 1988. Tjøl ...

(now

Larvik Larvik () is a List of cities in Norway, town and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. The municipality ...

in Vestfold). Excavations were started systematically in the spring of 1950 and continued until the first half of the 1970s. In 1968 she became a curator in

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...

, a position which she retained until her retirement in 1987.

Awards

Blindheim received the

King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

(''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') in gold during 1987.

Personal life

Blindheim was the maternal granddaughter of archaeologist, Ingvald Undset (1853-1893) and the niece of novelist

Sigrid Undset Sigrid Undset () (20 May 1882 – 10 June 1949) was a Norwegian-Danish novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928. Undset was born in Kalundborg, Denmark, but her family moved to Norway when she was two years old. In 1924, ...

, who was awarded the

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

for 1928. She was married to medieval art historian Martin Edvard Blindheim (1916-2009). She died during 2005 and was buried at

Vår Frelsers gravlund The Cemetery of Our Saviour ( no, Vår Frelsers gravlund) is a cemetery in Oslo, Norway, located north of Hammersborg in Gamle Aker district. It is located adjacent to the older Old Aker Cemetery and was created in 1808 as a result of the great ...

in Oslo.

Selected works

*Blindheim, Charlotte; (1953
''Kaupang : markedsplassen i skiringssal''
(Oslo: Norsk arkeologisk selskap) *Blindheim, Charlotte; Tollnes, Roar L. (1972
''Kaupang: Vikingenes Handelsplass''
(Oslo: Mortensen) *Blindheim, Charlotte; (1977
''Vikingtog og vikintid : en innføring i bilder og tekst for undervisningsbruk''
(Oslo: Schibsted Forlag) *Blindheim, C.; Heyerdahl-Larsen, B., and Ingstaf, A. S. (1998)

(Oslo: University of Oslo)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blindheim, Charlotte 2005 deaths 1917 births Academic staff of the University of Oslo Archaeologists from Oslo Norwegian curators Norwegian archaeologists Norwegian women archaeologists 20th-century archaeologists Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit 20th-century Norwegian women writers 20th-century Norwegian writers Norwegian women curators