Department of
PREHISTORY AND HISTORICAL ARCHEOLOGY
COLLECTION MANAGER
Dr. Franz Pieler
Office of the Lower Austrian Federal Government, Department of Art and Culture
MAMUZ Schloss Asparn
A-2151 Asparn/Zaya, Schlossgasse 1
asparn.urgeschichte@noel.gv.at
+43/2742/9005/49912
TEAM
Rudolf Klippl (collection maintenance, transport)
Melanie Hilmar (administration, library; currently on leave)
Alexandra Krenn (administration, library)
Norbert Weigl (collection maintenance, IT, photo documentation)
COLLECTION HISTORY
The establishment of an archeological collection began with the founding of the Niederösterreichisches Landesmuseum in 1911. Its holdings were largely built around archeological finds from private collections and later expanded, primarily through the museum’s own archeological excavations or those funded by the Lower Austrian Federal Government.
THE FOCUS OF THE COLLECTION
With approximately three million objects, the Prehistory and Historical Archeology department represents a cross-section of Lower Austria’s cultural history from the Ice Age to the Late Middle Ages. Many of its holdings are of national importance, including those from Grubgraben near Kammern and from Krems/Wachtberg (Palaeolithic), artefacts from the fortified settlement of Schletz (Neolithic) and the Middle Bronze Age barrow cemetery at Pitten, the Late Bronze Age mining area of Prigglitz, and the great early medieval settlement of Thunau am Kamp. Another major feature of this department is its associated documentation in the form of archaeological maps, sketches, photographs, and written and digital records.
An extensive library of specialised literature at MAMUZ Schloss Asparn/Zaya castle has been tailored to the collection holdings.
Publications
The Prehistory and Historical Archeology department regularly publishes information about its collections and on current research and exhibition projects.
- The “Archäologische Forschungen in Niederösterreich” [Archeological research in Lower Austria] series
- Volumes accompanying the “Tag der Niederösterreichischen Landesarchäologie” [Lower Austria Provincial Archeology Day]
- Exhibition catalogues
A transdisciplinary look at the early neolithic communities in Schletz settelment clustzer, Foto Franz Pieler
