Prof. Dr. Svend Hansen's honorary doctoral lecture

Summary of the lecture:

"In my lecture, I would like to discuss some aspects of the deposition of objects between 5,000 and 500 BC. Since the Neolithic at the latest, objects (often axes) and, later, many other things have been deposited in special places. With these offerings, the donors entered into an exchange with the imaginary powers, spirits, and gods. The offerings were thanks for the help of the imaginary powers and, at the same time, called for their assistance once again. The practice of making offerings is a longue duré phenomenon characterised by constant changes and transformations."

Svend Hansen is a respected member of the European archaeological community and a renowned researcher. He is a professor at Freie Universität Berlin and the first Director of the Eurasia-Ddepartment of the German Archaeological Institute, author of hundreds of scientific publications, and editor of books and journals. His research focuses on prehistoric metalworking, with a significant emphasis on the study of artifacts excavated in the Carpathian Basin. He has supported Hungarian archaeology for decades, supervised the completion of dozens of theses and doctoral dissertations based on prehistoric archaeological material from Hungary. Thanks to his support, several students, lecturers, and researchers from the Institute of Archaeology at ELTE have received scholarships to various European countries.