Development of archaeology in the Baltic during the age of learned societies (from the first half of the 19th century until the First World War)

In like manner as in Western Europe, learned societies were formed in the Baltics during the 19th century. These sought to unite all scientists in the Baltic provinces. In a way, they became the first academies of sciences. One of the tasks of these societies was to investigate the past of their homeland. Ideas of the Enlightenment also attracted the attention of the majority of the public, who at that time was mainly comprised of peasants – Latvians and Estonians. The first learned society, the Courland Society for Literature and Art (Kurländische Gesellschaft für Literatur und Kunst) was founded in Jelgava in 1815. In 1834, the Society for the History and Archaeology of the Baltic Provinces of Russia (Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Altertumskunde der Ostseeprovinzen Russlands) was founded in Rīga (later renamed the Rīga Society for Research of History and Antiquities) (Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Altertumskund zu Riga), and on 18 January 1838, the Learned Estonian The first learned society, the Courland Society for Literature and Art (Kurländische Gesellschaft für Literatur und Kunst) was founded in Jelgava in 1815. In 1834, the Society for the History and Archaeology of the Baltic Provinces of Russia (Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Altertumskunde der Ostseeprovinzen Russlands) was founded in Rīga (later renamed the Rīga Society for Research of History and Antiquities) (Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Altertumskund zu Riga), and on 18 January 1838, the Learned Estonian Society (Die Gelehrte Estnische Gesellschaft) was founded in Tartu. The learned societies regularly published meeting reports, Sitzungsberichte, which were compiled in yearbooks. In these one could find information about what items had been discovered, with detailed or brief descriptions of how they were found, together with reports on excavations, longer articles published in separate editions. These societies organised public lectures to which the most prominent specialists were invited as speakers; members of other learned societies often were elected solely as honorary members, or were invited to conduct archaeological excavations. It should be noted that it was only in the 1830s that archaeology became a science, separate from straightforward collection of antiquities.