Wilhelm Egon Holmqvist (6 April 1905 – 9 August 1989) was a Swedish archaeologist, art historian and scholar. He published extensively, and among other work led

excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

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 ...

Early life and education

Wilhelm Holmqvist was born on 6 April 1905 in

Ljusdal Ljusdal () is a locality and the seat of Ljusdal Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 6,230 inhabitants in 2010. Ljusdal is situated on Riksväg 83 which runs between Tönnebro in Söderhamn Municipality in Gävleborg County and � ...

, Sweden. Through the scholarship of a family friend he attended both secondary school and Stockholm University. At university he studied Nordic archaeology with Nils Åberg ( sv), whose typological-chronological approach Holmqvist adapted. After receiving his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1932, he received scholarships from the

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (german: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) is a foundation established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Education and Rese ...

and the

German Academic Exchange Service The German Academic Exchange Service, or DAAD (german: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), was founded in 1925 and is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation. Organisation ''DAAD'' is a ...

to spend several years studying in Germany, particularly in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

. On the basis of this study he submitted his dissertation, ''Kunstprobleme der Merowingerzeit'' ("Art problems of the Merovingian period"), for graduation on 2 December 1939. The work eventually attracted much attention, but only after being largely forgotten during the ensuing

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

period.

Career

Holmqvist worked as a lecturer at Stockholm University from 1940 to 1956. In 1953, he also became the director of the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

Department at the Statens historiska museum, holding the position until 1971. This role ensured that antiquities constantly passed through his hands, influencing his scholarship and leading to several of his publications. A 'turning point' in Holmqvist's career came in 1954, when he discovered a major prehistoric archaeological site on the Swedish island of

. The finds, which early on included a bronze 6th-century

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

statuette from

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

, an Irish

crosier A crosier or crozier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Cathol ...

, and a Coptic ladle, led to two decades of excavations. These were partially funded through the intervention of King

Gustaf VI Adolf Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf; 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf Ado ...

, who on 15 June 1965 bestowed upon Holmqvist the title of professor. Holmqvist led the excavations, which included work by his students and archaeologists such as Valdemars Ginters ( lv), until his retirement on 1 January 1975.

Personal life

Holmqvist died on 9 August 1989 at the age of 84.

Publications

For a list of publications through 1974, see . * *

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmqvist, Wilhelm Swedish archaeologists 1905 births 1989 deaths People from Ljusdal Municipality Swedish art historians 20th-century archaeologists 20th-century Swedish historians Stockholm University alumni Academic staff of Stockholm University