State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt

The State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt (German: Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt, often abbreviated LDA) is the central specialist authority for cultural heritage and archaeology in the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is a subordinate authority to the State Chancellery and Ministry of Culture of Saxony-Anhalt and is headquartered in Halle (Saale). The office was created on 1 January 2004 by merging the formerly independent State Office for Heritage Management (Landesamt für Denkmalpflege) and the State Office for Archaeology (Landesamt für Archäologie), under the state's administrative reform law of 17 December 2003. Its legal basis is the Monument Conservation Act of Saxony-Anhalt; under Section 5 of that act, the State Office serves as the state's expert authority (Denkmalfachamt) on heritage. The LDA's responsibilities cover the scientific recording, research and documentation of cultural monuments in Saxony-Anhalt, maintenance of the official monument lists, preparation of expert assessments and reports, specialist advice to heritage authorities and monument owners, restoration and conservation work, archaeological excavations, publication of research results, and public communication of its work. It also maintains specialised scientific libraries and archives. The State Museum of Prehistory (Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte) in Halle is part of the State Office and presents the prehistory of Saxony-Anhalt from the Stone Age to the end of the Middle Ages. The office is organised into six departments: administration; building and art heritage conservation (led by the state conservator); cross-cutting specialist services including libraries, archives and the depot; archaeological heritage conservation; the State Museum of Prehistory; and the Institute for Regional History, founded in 2021. The LDA is known internationally for major archaeological projects and finds in Saxony-Anhalt, including the Nebra Sky Disc, and for its research publications and exhibitions. It operates two publicly accessible specialist libraries — one for heritage conservation with about 30,000 volumes and one for archaeology with around 80,000 volumes — and a central depot in Halle that stores more than 16 million archaeological objects. The director of the State Office has been state archaeologist Harald Meller since its founding.

The State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt was formed on 1 January 2004 through the merger of the formerly independent Landesamt für Denkmalpflege (State Office for Heritage Management) and Landesamt für Archäologie (State Office for Archaeology), under the Law on the Reorganisation of State Administration of 17 December 2003. It continues the work of earlier heritage conservation institutions in the region. The predecessor heritage office in Saxony-Anhalt after 1990 emerged from the Halle branch of the Institute for Heritage Management of the German Democratic Republic (DDR). Before that, in the Prussian Province of Saxony, the office of the Provincial Conservator (Provinzialkonservator) was the relevant predecessor. The office has been led since its founding by state archaeologist Harald Meller. Ulrike Wendland was appointed State Conservator in 2005 and held the position until 2020; she was succeeded in 2021 by Elisabeth Rüber-Schütte. In 2021, the Institute for Regional History Saxony-Anhalt was founded as the sixth department of the State Office, with Michael Hecht as its head since its establishment. In October 2023, it became known that the State Office was attempting to have photographs of the 4,000-year-old Nebra Sky Disc deleted from Wikimedia Commons. The State Office is organised into six departments. Department 1 is the administration. Department 2 is Building and Art Heritage Conservation, led by the State Conservator, responsible for research and preservation of monuments in the state, with regional officers for individual areas and additional focuses on building research, restoration and garden heritage conservation. Department 3 covers cross-cutting specialist services, including the libraries, archives and the depot, the editorial office for publications, and scientific-technical services such as graphics/cartography and photography. Department 4 is Archaeological Heritage Conservation, responsible for research and preservation of archaeological monuments, with regional officers as well as specialists for individual archaeological periods and special excavation tasks such as infrastructure routes. Department 5 is the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle, which presents the prehistory of Saxony-Anhalt from the beginning of the Stone Age to the end of the Middle Ages in a permanent exhibition on two floors, supplemented by temporary special exhibitions on the ground floor. Department 6, the newest, is the Institute for Regional History founded in 2021, which deals with the history of Saxony-Anhalt from the Middle Ages to the present. The State Office maintains two spatially separate libraries, both generally open to the public. The specialist library for heritage conservation is, alongside the University and State Library Halle, the most important library in the field of practical heritage conservation and in art, architectural and regional history in Central Germany, with a collection of about 30,000 volumes. The library of the archaeology section comprises around 80,000 volumes, focusing on the prehistory and early history of Europe, especially Central Germany, but also holding works on non-European archaeology and scientific topics; it is one of the largest specialist libraries in Germany. The State Office also has a depot on Brachwitzer Straße in the north of Halle, where finds are sorted by material in the finds intake and stored in climate-controlled rooms. The collection of archaeological finds now comprises more than 16 million objects.

• Emil Theuner serves as Provincial Conservator (1893–1897), among the earliest in the predecessor line.

• Gotthardt Voss serves as Provincial/Land Conservator (1990–2003) in the period after German reunification.

• Law on the Reorganisation of State Administration passed, providing the basis for merging the heritage and archaeology offices.

• State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt founded by merger of the Landesamt für Denkmalpflege and Landesamt für Archäologie.

• Ulrike Wendland appointed State Conservator.

• Ulrike Wendland ends her term as State Conservator.

• Elisabeth Rüber-Schütte appointed State Conservator; Institute for Regional History founded as the sixth department.

• It becomes known that the State Office sought deletion of Nebra Sky Disc photos from Wikimedia Commons.

State-level expert authority for heritage conservation and archaeology in Saxony-Anhalt, combining monument protection, archaeological research, museum presentation and public outreach.

• State Museum of Prehistory (Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte)

  Museum in Halle presenting the prehistory of Saxony-Anhalt from the Stone Age to the end of the Middle Ages, with temporary special exhibitions.

• Monument information system

  Digital information system for monuments, listed among central services.

• Specialist libraries

  Two publicly accessible libraries: heritage conservation (about 30,000 volumes) and archaeology (around 80,000 volumes).

• Archaeological depot

  Climate-controlled depot in Halle storing more than 16 million archaeological objects.

1. 1State Officelda-lsa.de
2. 2State Office - Regional historylda-lsa.de
3. 3State Office - Regional history - IRiSlda-lsa.de
4. 4State Office - Serviceslda-lsa.de
5. 5Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhaltwikidata.org
6. 6Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhaltde.wikipedia.org