Political, social and cultural conditions and changes also have an impact on the sciences and humanities. In the field of archaeology, little attention has been paid to these issues so far. Only recently has there been an increased focus on them, as well as on the study of the history of archaeology, with attention often focussing on the inter-war period and the Second World War.
In contrast, the conference »Archäologie und Republik. Reflexionen zur Archäologie in Österreich in der Ersten und Zweiten Republik«, organised to mark the centenary of the founding of the Republic of Austria, was primarily devoted to the work of Austrian archaeologists since 1918, without focusing on the period of National Socialism. The contributions, now presented in the new volume of the series »Oriental and European Archaeology«, range from excavations in Austria to the work of Austrian archaeologists in Egypt and the Near East. They also provide an insight into the development and transformation of institutions such as the Collection of Ancient Antiquities at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the Federal Monuments Authority and the Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Other themes include the communication and reception of the results of research during the inter-war period and the Second World War, and biographical research. The volume thus provides a comprehensive overview of the diversity of archaeological research in Austria, especially since the proclamation of the First Republic. It can not only serve as a starting point for a further examination of the recent history of the discipline, but also enables a better understanding of its past and thus also its present.