assembly places, and sacriWcial sites had been destroyed by road construction in
Zealand, and that even those examples renowned in tradition should not have been
spared is universally acknowledged and deplored.
(in Klindt-Jensen 1975: 45).In addition to the negative eVects of the development of agriculture on
existing ancient remains, several other factors contributed to the success of
Nyerup’s proposal for the opening of a new museum. In theWrst place,
Denmark’s alliance with Napoleon proved catastrophic both economically
and politically. HerXeet was destroyed, Copenhagen was devastated and her
trade seriously aVected. To these misfortunes the state’sWnancial bankruptcy
in 1813 and the loss of Norway in 1814 were later added. At the same time, the
theft and destruction of the Gallehus gold horns from the Royal Cabinet of
the Kunstkammer in 1802 was lamented not only by antiquarians: more
importantly perhaps, it inspired the Danish Romantic, Adam Oehlenschla ̈ger
(1779–1850), to write theWrst poem of the movement,Guldhornene(The
Golden Horns). As a result, prehistory would be at the centre of the Romantic
Movement in Denmark. Indeed, megalithic sites became the chief attraction
of walking tours by Romantics as early as 1808 eager for exciting encounters
and keen to experience the mysterious power of the past (Klindt-Jensen
1975).
In 1807, following Mu ̈nter’s advice, recommendations were made by the
Chancellery for the preservation of prehistoric and medieval remains and
monuments. A Committee for Antiquities (Oldsagskommisionen) and a
state museum were created, institutions which were quickly emulated by the
other Scandinavian countries: in Norway, for example, the Antiquities
Commission was set up in 1810 and in Sweden the post of Inspector of State
Antiquities was established in 1814. In Denmark the committee set up to select
monuments had to decide which three hundred should be protected and also
distributed information to farmers explaining that it was seldom worth dig-
ging for gold in burial-mounds. However, until the 1840s the commit-
tees, inspectorates and museums only indicate a proto-professionalization of
prehistoric—and medieval—archaeology in Scandinavia. During the pre-
professional period, all the posts related to archaeology wereWlled by voluntary
workers. Indeed, the fact that Christian Ju ̈rgensen Thomsen (1788–1865) did
not need a salary was one of the major reasons behind his selection as theWrst
keeper of the museum in Copenhagen. To begin with even his few assistants
had no salary. The same appears to have happened in Norway, where the
museum in Bergen also depended on unpaid workers (Klindt-Jensen 1975).
Moreover, the museum’s initial oYcial name was Museum for Nordic Antiqui-
ties. The title Royal was only conceded in 1832, when it moved to the royal
The Early Search (1789–1820) 325