Gerhard Zimmer
Gerhard Zimmer is a German classical archaeologist, currently in residence as Professor of Classical Archaeology at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. He is the author of several books on classical archeology, primarily of the Western Roman Empire and its successor barbarian states.
Zimmer studied classical philology, German studies, and classical archaeology at the University of Munich. He completed his studies with the Staatsexamen in Latin and Greek as well as his thesis on Roman representations of trades. His supervisor was Paul Zanker. He worked in the Mediterranean from 1978 to 1979, funded by a travel scholarship from the German Archaeological Institute. Between 1980 and 1985 he was involved with a research project on ancient bronze casting. He was, from 1984, assistant at the West Berlin section of the Antikensammlung Berlin, later curator and finally Deputy Director. In 1988, Zimmer became Professor of Greek Bronze Casting Workshops at the Free University of Berlin, while continuing to work at the collection of antiquities, where his work included several major exhibitions such as Mirror Images, Civil Worlds and The Praying Boy. After lecturing at the Free University of Berlin, Zimmer moved in 1997 to the Humboldt University in Berlin. Since 31 July 1999, Gerhard Zimmer has been Professor of Classical Archaeology at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt.
Zimmer's research currently focuses on processing workshop findings and reconstructing technologies of ancient bronze casting, using experimental verification to corroborate reconstructed methods.