Epitaph Prof. Dr. Wolfram Martini

Prof. Dr. Wolfram Martini was head of the Department of Classical Archaeology and the Collection of Classical Antiquities at Justus Liebig University from the summer semester of 1985 until the beginning of the winter semester of 2006.

Born in Hamburg on 15 September 1941, Wolfram Martini studied Classical Archaeology, Classical Philology, Ancient History, Prehistory and Early History and Art History at the universities of Heidelberg, Lawrence (USA), Mainz, Rome and Hamburg from 1961. In Hamburg he received his doctorate in 1967/1968 with a thesis on "Die etruskische Ringsteinglyptik" (18th supplementary issue of the Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Rom. Heidelberg 1971). From 1968 to 1979 he was a research assistant at the Archaeological Institute of the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel. During this time, 1969-1979, he directed the excavations of a large building complex in the ancient city area of Samos on behalf of the German Archaeological Institute Berlin and the Athens Department. He habilitated in Kiel in 1977/1978 with the results of these excavations with the topic "The Gymnasium of Samos I. The Hellenistic Complex and the Imperial Period Baths" (published as "Das Gymnasium von Samos", in the series SAMOS XVI, Bonn 1984). In 1979 and 1980 he successively held the chairs of Classical Archaeology at the Ruhr University in Bochum and at the Georg August University in Göttingen. After being appointed associate professor (1982), he taught at the C2 professorship of the Archaeological Institute of the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel from 1983 to 1985.

His scholarly interests went far beyond the core areas of classical archaeology, ancient sculpture and architecture and Greek vase painting. A particular focus of Martini's research, however, was Greek sculpture, especially of the 7th and 6th centuries BC: his book Die archaische Plastik der Griechen (The Archaic Sculpture of the Greeks) (Darmstadt 1990) is still a standard work, not least for university teaching. His work on the afterlife of the ancient gymnasium on Samos resulted in an extensive contribution to Byzantine archaeology, which he published together with Cornelius Steckner: "Das Gymnasium von Samos II. Das Frühbyzantinische Klostergut" (in the series SAMOS vol. XVII, Mainz 1993). He integrated his research in the field of Roman art and architecture into a large-scale project that he carried out together with numerous colleagues: For he was one of the initiators of the Collaborative Research Centre "Cultures of Memory" (SFB 434), which was founded in 1997 as one of the first and largest research networks in the humanities and successfully completed its work at the end of 2008. Martini was deputy spokesperson of this SFB from 1997 to 1999 and led the sub-project "Forms of Memory and Forgetting in the Visual Arts of Hadrianic Times". His pronounced interest in archaeological field research led to the project on the acropolis of Perge in Turkey, which lasted for over 14 years and initially involved an extensive survey and then very fruitful excavations in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Haluk Abbasoğlu, the head of the Archaeological Institute of the University of Istanbul. In addition to numerous excavation reports, the publication "The Acropolis of Perge Vol. I. Survey und Sondagen 1994-1997" (Mainz 2003; together with H. Abbasoğlu) deserves special mention. The concluding second volume on the architectural and stratigraphic features was published only a few days after his death; he was unable to hold it in his hands ("Die Akropolis von Perge II. The results of the excavations 1998-2004 and 2008. - Perge Akropolisi II. 1998-2004 ile 2008 Yılları Kazı Sonuçları"; Istanbul 2017; together with N. Eschbach). Still in 2012, he took on a major research project for the German Archaeological Institute, Madrid Department: the post-examination and publication of the Roman thermal complex of Munigua in Spain. The manuscript has been completed and is currently being prepared for printing by the editorial staff of the DAI Madrid.

His scientific achievements and personal integrity quickly gained high recognition and respect. As early as 1975, the German and Austrian Archaeological Institutes appointed him a corresponding member; from 1985 and until his retirement in 2006, he represented the Classical Archaeology of Hesse in the Central Directorate of the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin. He worked for the German Research Foundation (DFG) as a peer reviewer from 2000-2003 and for the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) as a member of the peer review committee in 2002. Since 2001 he has contributed his experience to the editorial board of the internationally renowned journals Adalya (Turkey), and since 2006 to the scientific advisory board of the Athenian Mitteilungen of the German Archaeological Institute.

In 1987, Martini arranged for the relocation of the university's collection of antiquities, which until then had largely slumbered in secrecy and whose beginnings date back to the early 19th century, to the Wallenfels House of the Oberhessisches Museum; it thus became publicly accessible again. He initiated and promoted exhibitions and publications, above all the inclusion of the Greek vases in the Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (CVA Gießen 1, Munich 1998), which made the Giessen collection internationally known in research.

As a trust lecturer of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German National Academic Foundation) from 1985, in a leading role from 1993 until 2008, he also exerted an influence on young academics outside the direct environment at the Justus Liebig University. Within the framework of university institutions, he assumed special responsibility for students both as chairman of the humanities doctoral committee (1987-2006) and the academic examination office for the humanities (1989-2006). As Dean of the Department of History (1988/1989) and as Dean of the newly formed Department of History and Cultural Studies (2001-2003), he not only contributed significantly to the well-being of the individual subjects, but also ensured, among other things, that Classical Archaeology remained part of the Humanities at JLU. Since 2003 and until his retirement, he also vigorously represented the interests of the humanities as a member of the Senate of Justus Liebig University. He also exerted a lively influence on the fate of the subject beyond the framework of the university, including from 1996 to 2006 as a member of the extended board of the Philosophy Faculty Association, and finally after his retirement, for example, since 2008 as a member of the Accreditation Commission Agency for Quality Assurance through Accreditation of Study Programmes (AQAS).

Wolfram Martini taught on the one hand with great commitment and calmly delivered enthusiasm, as well as with his always clear love of and joy in antiquity, and on the other hand unspokenly by example, by his friendly collegiality and his loyalty to colleagues, staff and students. In his strictly findings-oriented thinking and acting, whether in dealing with the objects of the subject or with the concerns of the Chair of Classical Archaeology and beyond, he was a model of scientific and human integrity. We are deeply saddened by his death. Our deepest sympathy goes to his family.

The members of the University, the Department and the Chair of Classical Archaeology will always honour the memory of the deceased.