Swiss grave looting expert wins Marie Heim-Vögtlin Prize
Archaeologist Murer receives the Marie Heim-Vögtlin Prize
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Listening: Swiss grave looting expert wins Marie Heim-Vögtlin Prize
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has awarded the Marie Heim-Vögtlin Prize to archaeologist Cristina Murer. She receives the prize for her research on grave looting in late antiquity.
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Archäologin Murer erhält den Marie Heim-Vögtlin-Preis
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Murer showed that looting and destruction were an important part of recycling processes in cities, the SNSF announced on Tuesday. During late antiquity, resources had to be conserved.
Contrary to previous assumptions, tombs were not destroyed by Christians as part of anti-pagan measures. Through creative reuse, the decoration of the ancient tombs has been preserved over time.
Murer also attached great importance to evaluating the findings in an interdisciplinary manner and placing them in their historical context. Much of the information on grave robbery in late antiquity was taken from legal texts and literary sources, she explained. This was supplemented by archival work in Italian excavation diaries from the early 20th century.
The Marie Heim-Vögtlin Prize honours outstanding young female researchers who are intended to inspire other young female scientists. The prize’s namesake, Marie Heim-Vögtlin, was the first Swiss woman to be admitted to the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Zurich in 1868. She was one of the pioneers in the fight for women’s access to academic education.
The award ceremony will take place on November 12 in Bern.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
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