Gjerstad, Einar, 1897-....

Einar Gjerstad (1897-1988), a Swedish classical archaeologist, established his scholarly career as the director of the Swedish Cyprus Expedition from 1927-1931. He continued his work on Cyprus throughout his life, and beginning in the late 1940s, Gjerstad also turned his attention to the archaeology and history of early Rome.

From the description of Einar Gjerstad research papers, 1806-1984. (Getty Research Institute). WorldCat record id: 77992761

Biographical/Historical Note

Einar Nilson Gjerstad was born October 30, 1897 in Örebro, Sweden, where his father, Erik Nilson, was a merchant and local politician. As Nilson’s career advanced during World War I, the family moved to Stockholm, and shortly after this, in 1917, Gjerstad left home to enroll in Uppsala University. At Uppsala, Gjerstad studied under Axel Persson, and eventually became his assistant when the Swedish excavations at Asine in Greece began in 1922. This connection with Persson set the foundation for Gjerstad’s archaeological career.

A chance encounter on a train in the Balkans in the summer of 1922 between Axel Persson and a stranger, who asked to borrow money, led to Persson receiving an invitation to excavate in Cyprus under very favorable conditions. Persson, being too busy himself, offered this opportunity to Gjerstad. Thus in 1923, Gjerstad went off to Cyprus for initial investigations and negotiations. He spent the next sixteen months on the island studying previously excavated material and conducting his own limited excavations, work for which he received his doctorate from Uppsala in 1926. Having done this initial reconnaisance, Gjerstad returned to Cyprus in 1927 as the director of a large-scale project, the Swedish Cyprus Expedition (SCE). Gjerstad and his team spent the years from 1927-1931 in the field, then returned to Sweden for the task of interpreting and publishing the results of those excavations. During this period of excavation and study, from 1926-1935, Gjerstad also held the position of Docent in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History at Uppsala University.

Although he would continue the publication of his work on Cyprus for many years to come, 1935 marked a new phase in Gjerstad’s career. From 1935-1940 Gjerstad served as the director of the Swedish Institute for Classical Studies in Rome, where he showed great skill at administration. He initiated and implemented the creation of a new Institute building in Rome, and he worked to establish a Swedish Institute in Athens. On leaving Rome in 1940, Gjerstad became Professor of Classical Archaeology and Ancient History at Lund University.

After World War II, Gjerstad’s research interests shifted. Having spent 25 years focused almost exclusively on the archaeology of Cyprus, Gjerstad turned to Rome. His tenure in Rome had sparked an interest in early Roman history and archaeology, and Gjerstad entered a new phase of research and excavation. In 1949, Gjerstad presented the first in what became a long series of articles and books in which he put forward a radical redating of the early history of the city of Rome. In 1957, he left his chair at Lund and was awarded a personal professorship which would allow him to concentrate fully on his Rome research. Gjerstad did just that, publishing extensively on Roman questions until he retired from the position in 1972.

In his retirement, he continued his research and publications on Rome, as well as returning to his original interest, Cyprus. Einar Gjerstad died in Lund on January 8, 1988.

From the guide to the Einar Gjerstad research papers, 1806-1984, 1925-1980, (Getty Research Institute)