Caspar Reuvens
Encyclopedia
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
- 26 July 1835, Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
) was a Dutch historian and archaeologist. He was the founding director of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden is the national archaeological museum of the Netherlands. It is located in Leiden. The Museum grew out of the collection of Leiden University and still closely co-operates with its Faculty of Archaeology...
(Dutch National Museum of Antiquities) in Leiden, the world's first ever professor of archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
(at Leiden University
Leiden University
Leiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...
), and conducted the first excavations at the Roman provincial site Forum Hadriani
Forum Hadriani
Forum Hadriani, at the modern town of Voorburg, was the northern-most Roman city on the European continent and the second oldest city of The Netherlands. It was located in the Roman province Germania Inferior and is mentioned on the Tabula Peutingeriana, a Roman road map.The site Forum Hadriani...
in the Netherlands.
Personal life and education
In 1798, when Reuvens was only five years old, he lost his mother. His father was a prominent jurist, had been minister of justice for a short while, and filled various other important offices. Reuvens' father was transferred to Paris after the conquest by Napoleon, so the young Reuvens lived there for some years. In 1813 Reuvens graduated from the University of ParisUniversity of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
with a degree in law. During the reign of Napoleon, Paris received art from all the conquered nations. It has been argued that this experience in Paris would prove an inspiration for Reuvens' later efforts to establish a Dutch national museum for archaeology.
In 1814 Reuvens and his father returned to the Netherlands where they both found work as lawyers. Reuvens continued his childhood and teenage interest in the ancient world by studying and writing commentaries on Greek and Latin literature. These were published in 1815 under the title Collectanea litteraria.
In 1816 Reuvens became a professor in Harderwijk, and in 1818 at Leiden University (see below). Around this time Reuvens' father was killed in Brussel as a key witness in some sort of scandal. The details of the murder case remain unsolved.
In 1822 Reuvens got married, and three children would follow within the decade. Reuvens died in 1835, aged only 42, at what seems to have been a stroke. He is buried in Leiden.
Professorships
The newly established first king of the Netherlands, William IWilliam I of the Netherlands
William I Frederick, born Willem Frederik Prins van Oranje-Nassau , was a Prince of Orange and the first King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg....
, attempted to restart the University of Harderwijk
University of Harderwijk
The University of Harderwijk , also named the Guelders Academy , was located in the town of Harderwijk, in the Republic of the United Provinces...
in 1815. Caspar Reuvens was appointed professor of Greek and Latin there, and began his teaching in 1816.
In 1818 the Ministry of Education aborted the unsuccessful attempt to start a school at Harderwijk. There were only six professors, of which Reuvens was one. His area of expertise, Latin and Greek, did not have any vacancies at other universities though. At this point the minister of education wrote a letter to King William I suggesting a profession of archaeology for Reuvens, as the young man showed a keen interest in antiquities. The king signed the royal decree on 13 June 1818, making Reuvens the world's first archaeology professor.
Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
With Reuvens' appointment came the directorship of the archaeological cabinet of Leiden University. This collection of antiquities consisted of the inheritance of the Papenbroek CollectionPapenbroek Collection
The Papenbroek Collection is one of the largest 18th century Dutch art collections. After the death of its owner, Gerard van Papenbroek , the majority of the collection was bequeathed to Leiden University...
which came into the university's possession in 1743.
Immediately upon starting his teachings in Leiden, Reuvens boldly requested a new building for the collection, the creation of an archaeological library and had several other demands for the trustees. Apart from a few elementary needs for his teachings, most of the requests were ignored and did not receive any response. When in 1819 Reuvens directly approached the minister of education for funding, he discovered that this straight line to the government was a much more fruitful way of gaining funds than through the trustees. The Ministry of Education paid for casts of the Elgin Marbles
Elgin Marbles
The Parthenon Marbles, forming a part of the collection known as the Elgin Marbles , are a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures , inscriptions and architectural members that originally were part of the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens...
and their transportation to the Netherlands, without having the university involved.
Reuvens quickly added several other university collections of antiquities to the Papenbroek Collection, and thereby extended the variety to include Egyptian artefacts. With government support he began gathering various collections from outside Leiden as well, and occasionally he received personal gifts for the archaeological cabinet. Some organizations did not mind parting with their antiquities, since they were often an alien group of objects among larger collections of for example biological or geological specimens. Other organizations fought academic and political battles with Reuvens. (Also see Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden is the national archaeological museum of the Netherlands. It is located in Leiden. The Museum grew out of the collection of Leiden University and still closely co-operates with its Faculty of Archaeology...
).
With the help of the Department of Education, Arts and Sciences, Reuvens added other collections to the museum during the 1820s. This includes the three Rottiers Collection
Rottiers Collection
The Rottiers Collection refers to three 19th century art collections that became an integral part of the collection of the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities. The first two collections were personal and sold by Flemish Colonel B.E.A...
s. Reuvens would later discover that Colonel Rottiers would not hesitate to sell forgeries, and the two had a fall out. During the same period a long friendship with Major Jean Emile Humbert
Jean Emile Humbert
Jean Emile Humbert was a Dutch lieutenant-colonel who can be credited with rediscovering ancient Carthage. As an agent for the Dutch government he procured vital parts of the collection of the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden...
began, and the two worked together on the research and publication of ancient Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
. This co-operation would prove to be of major importance to the collection of the museum and the careers of both Reuvens and Humbert. Humbert went on two archaeological expeditions, one to Carthage and one to Italy, as an agent for the Dutch government. Sending his reports and catalogs of collections on sale directly to Reuvens, the co-operation of the two men would bring important additions to the National Museum.
In 1830 Reuvens published parts of a papyrus in the Leiden collection, and for that is credited with beginning the scholarly study of papyri.
On his way back from England in 1835 Reuvens became severely ill and probably suffered a stroke. He died young, leaving the National Museum of Antiquities with a considerable collection as his legacy.
The Forum Hadriani excavation
Reuvens would lead the first professional excavation in the Netherlands. The excavating of the Forum HadrianiForum Hadriani
Forum Hadriani, at the modern town of Voorburg, was the northern-most Roman city on the European continent and the second oldest city of The Netherlands. It was located in the Roman province Germania Inferior and is mentioned on the Tabula Peutingeriana, a Roman road map.The site Forum Hadriani...
began in 1827, and would end early in the 1830s. The whole project was tainted by bad weather and budgetary problems, but Reuvens demonstrated meticulous registration methods and invented techniques for field archaeology along the way.
Reuvens, his family and two of his students temporary moved in to the country house on the bought land. He organized tours and hired locals for menial tasks. All sorts of objects were discovered on the site, including coins, sherds of pottery, jewelry, a bronze statuette of a dog and even human remains.
Correspondence of the time shows Reuvens constantly trying to persuade the government of the value of excavating. When Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
seceded from the kingdom in 1830 archaeology was the last thing the treasury could indulge, and eventually the estate was sold. The result of the project was unsatisfactory, though it had been the first professional field archaeology conducted in the Netherlands.
Important events in the life of Reuvens
- 1793 Birth in The HagueThe HagueThe Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
- 1813 Doctoral Thesis
- 1816 Professor at HarderwijkHarderwijk' is a municipality and a small city in the eastern Netherlands.- The history of Harderwijk :Harderwijk received city rights from Count Otto II of Guelders in 1231. A defensive wall surrounding the city was completed by the end of that century. The oldest part of the city is near where the...
- 1818 Appointed professor extraordinarius of Archaeology at Leiden UniversityLeiden UniversityLeiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...
- 1822 Marriage
- 1827-33 Directs excavations at Forum HadrianiForum HadrianiForum Hadriani, at the modern town of Voorburg, was the northern-most Roman city on the European continent and the second oldest city of The Netherlands. It was located in the Roman province Germania Inferior and is mentioned on the Tabula Peutingeriana, a Roman road map.The site Forum Hadriani...
- 1835 Dies in RotterdamRotterdamRotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, age 42
For a more extensive list, see Halbertsma (2003)