ABSTRACT
Stereotypes are often misleading, but more often than not, they also contain some element of truth, however much distorted. The stereotypical view that ‘The Hun is a methodical chap’, expressed frequently by Biggles, the fictional RAF fighter pilot in W.E.Johns’ novels, is in some ways uncomfortably close to reality. The predominant practice of German pre-and proto-historic archaeology today is utterly methodical, but hardly inspirational (Härke 1991). The contrast to Anglophone archaeology could not be greater. In Germany, methods of source criticism, conventional chronology, documentation and fieldwork have been developed to a high standard, which compares favourably with much of contemporary practice in British and American archaeology. On the other hand, there has been in Germany very little reflection on the theoretical foundations and social context of the subject. The orthodox position has been spelt out by Fischer (1987:181): ‘All theoretical methods of prehistoric archaeology…were developed in the 19th century’ and ‘One can justifiably state that the theoretical section of the methodology of our subject has been completed. Additions are to be expected in the practical section…’ (Fischer 1987:194). Alternative positions exist within German archaeology, but carry little weight.
