Alexandra Pesch

Alexandra Pesch is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology (ZBSA) and Associate Professor at the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Faculty of Philosophy, affiliated with the Institute of Prehistory and Early History and the Institute of Scandinavian Studies, Frisian Studies and General Linguistics. She holds a venia legendi in Prehistoric and Early History Archaeology and Old Norse Philology and was appointed as an extraordinary professor in 2020.

Her research focuses on archaeological imagery, particularly the interpretation of Germanic and Viking visual culture from the first millennium AD. She specializes in gold bracteates, gold neck collars (guldhalskragar), gold foil figures (guldgubbar), picture stones, and runestones, analyzing their symbolic meanings and role in elite communication and religious practices. Her interdisciplinary approach integrates archaeological evidence with Old Norse textual sources and philology.

The trends in her recent publications reveal a sustained focus on the iconography and symbolism of Migration Period art, particularly goldwork. She investigates the continuity of Germanic artistic traditions into the early medieval period, the function of divine and elite imagery, and the social mechanisms behind artistic production. Her work often challenges popular misconceptions, such as the so-called 'Viking compass' (Vegvisir), and critically examines the modern reception and misuse of ancient symbols.

• Oscar Montelius Medal by Svenska Fornminnesföreningen, October 2016

Alexandra Pesch has supervised numerous research projects and workshops, often in collaboration with international scholars. She is a member of several academic boards, including the Scientific Advisory Board of the DFG Specialized Information Service Northern Europe and the Monument Council of the State of Schleswig-Holstein. She has not received specific grant mentions in the text but her long-term employment and project leadership imply sustained funding. She has edited multiple conference volumes and contributed extensively to academic discourse.

She leads research at the ZBSA, particularly within the thematic area of 'Mensch und Artefakt' (Human and Artefact), and has continued the scholarly legacy of Karl Hauck on bracteate research. Her work is central to the Johanna Mestorf Academy at CAU Kiel, and she is involved in the Schleswig Section of the Schleswig-Holstein University Society and the International Saxon Symposium.