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PROFESSOR WITOLD HENSEL - SCHOLAR, ORGANIZER, TEACHER. OUTLINE OF ACTIVITIES (Prof. dr hab. Witold Hensel - badacz, organizator, dydaktyk. Zarys dzialalnosci)

100%

Dekowna M.

Archeologia Polski

2008

vol. 53

issue 1

55-82

Professor Witold Hensel, member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, doctor honoris causa of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, member of many scientific institutions and organizations, laureate of several polish and foreign awards, is unquestionably a distinguished representative of Polish archaeology. His achievements are impressive indeed, covering scholarly, as well as organizational, editorial and educational activities. Professor Hensel is foremost a scholar and the author of about 960 printed works, many of which were of pioneering importance for new directions of research. Among these is his 'The need to organize a great anniversary', which laid the foundations for a program of comprehensive archaeological excavations, carried out by institutions established for the purpose, in the biggest centers of the Piast state, the chief element of the millennium celebrations of Polish statehood. Then there is the article 'Barrier of sound', in which He emphasized the role of technological studies on archaeological objects in contributing important data on the everyday life of ancient communities and presented a project for organizing cooperation between archaeologists and natural scientists in this respect. This program was implemented by the Institute of the History of Material Culture of which prof. Hensel was a longtime director. Among his other inspirational works which contributed to the development of studies on key issues of prehistory and medieval history of societies inhabiting Polish lands, as well as other regions of Europe, one should mention his books and articles on the origins of Polish towns, then on Slavic and all European origins, and his research on prehistoric and Early Medieval communities in Poland as well as the material culture of the Slavs. In 1953, the Institute of the History of Material Culture PAN was established (from 1992 the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology PAN). Professor Witold Hensel helped to organize it and headed it from 1954 until 1989. This period has come to be called the 'Golden Age' of the Institute. Professor Hensel also initiated, often in association with other institutions, broad-scale archaeological excavations, first in Poland and then abroad, in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Italy, France and Algeria. He organized and presided over the First International Congress of Slavic Archaeology in 1965. It was his initiative to establish the International Union of Slavic Archaeology, of which he was named President, which subsequently organized many important congresses in various countries. The Professor initiated a number of periodicals and publishing series, and oversaw a rich output of scientific monographs. An enormous undertaking during his time in office as Institute Director was the preparation and publishing of five huge multi-volume syntheses, prepared in the 1970s and first half of the 1980s, summing up the state of research on the history and development of societies inhabiting Polish lands and other regions in the past, as well as the transformation of Polish folk tradition. These projects had to be undertaken by large research groups. Professor Hensel had the commendable ability to bring together many talented scholars and to teach young students of archaeology how to excel. Of the professors active today in archaeology in Poland, the largest group comprises Professor's students.The editorial team presented Prof. Witold Hensel with the volume of 'Archeologia Polski' (no. 52) dedicated to Him.1 Figure

PROFESSOR DR. WITOLD HENSEL, MEMBER OF THE POLISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (29.03.1917 - 22.11.2008) (Prof. dr hab. Witold Hensel, czlonek rzeczywisty Polskiej Akademii Nauk (29.03.1917 - 22.11.2008)

100%

Dekowna M.

Archeologia Polski

2009

vol. 54

issue 1

7-11

Prof. Dr. Witold Hensel died at the age of over 91. An outstanding scholar, he had also excelled as an organizer of science, educator of several generations of young researchers, a monumental influence on the history of Polish archaeology and equally deserving as far as the development of Slavic - and more broadly speaking - European archaeology is concerned. Many of the 960 works he had written and published were groundbreaking and he was the initiator or co-initiator of several scholarly and organizational undertakings. It was at his inspiration, among others, that a program of research on the beginnings of the Polish State was created in the late 1940s and an organizational framework for studies on the material culture of the early Slavs in the early 1960s. Professor Hensel initiated and subsequently presided over the First International Congress of Slavic Archaeology in 1965, going on to preside over the International Union of Slavic Archaeology. He also initiated and directed research on the beginnings of Polish towns, followed by Slav towns and European ones. Professor Hensel co-organized and in 1954-1989 directed the Institute of the History of Material Culture (renamed the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology in 1992) of the PAS bringing together archaeology, ethnography and studies on medieval and modern-age material culture. During his term in office the Institute became a leading research institution in Poland, conducting research in the disciplines listed above and embarking on broad-scale excavations in Poland, Bulgaria, Macedonia, France, Italy and Algeria. Professor Hensel educated and gathered together to work at the Institute the biggest staff of qualified researchers specializing in different aspects of archaeology. He established a number of periodicals and publishing series; numerous monograph studies and five multi-volume syntheses were prepared on his initiative. He was a founder or co-founder of the International Committee for Research on Town Origins, International Commission for Research on Early Medieval Slav Cultures and president or member of national and foreign scientific councils, including the International Union of Pre- and Protohistoric Sciences, International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, member of several scholarly associations and science academies, doctor honoris causa of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. He was a member of the Presidium and Secretary of Division I (Social Sciences) of the PAS. He also received a number of awards, orders and medals: twice the State Award of the 2nd Degree, several times the awards of the Minister of National Education and Scientific Secretary of the PAS. His death has closed an entire age, an era of outstanding personalities in Polish archaeology. He was an unquestioned authority for a few generations of archaeologists, the Master who helped to shape the professional attitudes of many young researchers, a model for their studies and an unfailing inspiration for their research. Farewells are always sad, but in this case there is a shining beacon - the multitude of his disciples and followers.

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PROFESSOR WITOLD HENSEL - SCHOLAR, ORGANIZER, TEACHER. OUTLINE OF ACTIVITIES (Prof. dr hab. Witold Hensel - badacz, organizator, dydaktyk. Zarys dzialalnosci)

PROFESSOR DR. WITOLD HENSEL, MEMBER OF THE POLISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (29.03.1917 - 22.11.2008) (Prof. dr hab. Witold Hensel, czlonek rzeczywisty Polskiej Akademii Nauk (29.03.1917 - 22.11.2008)