16 Facts About Gerhard Bersu

Gerhard Bersu was a German archaeologist who excavated widely across Europe.

Gerhard Bersu was forced into exile from Germany in 1937 due to anti-Semitic laws in pre-war Nazi Germany.

Gerhard Bersu was interned on the Isle of Man during World War II where he made several significant archaeological discoveries such as the Viking boat burial at Balladoole.

Gerhard Bersu was born in Jauer in Silesia in 1889 to a Jewish father.

Gerhard Bersu was interested in prehistory from a young age and began his archaeological career while still a school boy, by joining in Carl Schuchhardt's excavations near Potsdam in 1907.

In successive years Bersu dug in several European countries such as France, Switzerland, Italy, and Greece.

Gerhard Bersu worked under Hubert Schmidt in the excavations at Cucuteni.

Gerhard Bersu rose to the position of Director in 1931 and the institution became a "centre at which scholars from all Europe and beyond met to discuss the problems of archaeology" under his guidance.

Gerhard Bersu was reassigned to a lower position at the German Archaeological Institute as Officer of Excavations, Berlin in 1935 and then was forced to retire later that year.

At the invitation of British archaeologist Osbert Crawford as the president of the Prehistoric Society, Gerhard Bersu conducted excavations in 1938 and 1939 at Little Woodbury in Wiltshire, introducing novel continental methods to the study of British prehistoric sites.

Gerhard Bersu introduced new methods from continental Europe regarding the digging of trenches and the investigation of timber post remains that were one of the few remnants of the domestic dwellings on the site.

Director of the Manx Museum, Basil Megaw immediately saw the potential of having Gerhard Bersu investigate some of the Isle of Man's significant archaeological sites.

Gerhard Bersu was allowed to continue his research with the help of other internees and his wife Maria who did much of the recording of the excavation.

At Balladoole, Gerhard Bersu expected to excavate an Iron Age hill fort, but instead discovered Mesolithic remains; a Bronze Age cist; a Christian keeill ; a Christian burial ground, and a Viking Age boat burial.

Gerhard Bersu excavated at the settlement of Green Craig, Creich, Fife in 1947.

Gerhard Bersu died suddenly while attending a meeting of the German Academy of Sciences in Magdeburg.