304 ANTHROPOLOGY. 



imperfect — concerning the condition of the monuments, the Danish de- 

 partment of just ice ( Ghancellerie), at the instance of the commission, placed 

 under the protection of the law a number of the monuments of antiquity 

 and of the middle ages throughout the country (1809-1810).* At first the 

 legality of this measure was doubtful; the proprietors not being bound 

 by any law to cede their right to these monuments, especially without a 

 provision of indemnity; moreover, in those cases where no opposition 

 was made, the fact that they had been taken by the government was not 

 registered in legal form so as to bar future purchasers of the property. 



The consequences of this omission did not fail to be felt the more, 

 since the commission, not receiving any salary, and having only small 

 appropriations for their object, had not the means to employ competent 

 men to inspect the monuments scattered throughout the kingdom. 

 Moreover, many objects disappeared, little by little, without the knowl- 

 edge of the commission, or without their being able to prosecute the 

 guilty parties. 



However, an effort was made to induce the proprietors to relinquish, 

 voluntarily, their rights to the relics, and to place them under the 

 protection of the law; and in a great number of cases the end was at- 

 tained. Specimens were also bought, when the price was not too high. 

 From official inquiries made in 1817, it appeared that a great number of 

 monuments declared national in 1809-1810 were entirely destroyed or par- 

 tially damaged, and the necessity of having recourse to more efficacious 

 measures was evident. By a royal decree of December 22, 1817, a 

 salaried officer, Professor Worsaae was added to the commission, and 

 charged especially as inspector, and later as director, to look after the 

 preservation of archaeological monuments, and under this title he received 

 the royal commission March 20, 181S.t A sum of money was annually 

 placed at his disposal for the purchase, restoration, and sketching of the 

 monuments, and for diggings and expeditions, in which he was author- 

 ized to act in the name of the commission. 



As the conviction had gained ground that it was unnecessary to pro- 

 hibit the traffic and exportation of treasures, so it was agreed to follow 

 the same liberal policy as to the seizure of national monuments, and, in 

 L848, the government did not think it advisable to give sanction to a 

 project designed to apply the right of eminent domain in the case of 

 proprietors who were recalcitrant, or who demanded too much indemnity. 



The newly appointed inspectors of archaeological remains, after hav- 

 ing labored a year and a hall' in concert with the commission for the 

 preservation of antiquities, up to the dissolution of the last-named body 

 in August, 1849, were afterward placed in an entirely independent po- 



*The li'-i of these monuments is printed in the AntihearisJee Awnaler (Archaeological 

 AnnaU), published by the Royal Commission for the Preservation of Antiquities, I. 

 8vo, Copenhagen, 1-1J, pp. 1 5">-14.">, 318-379. * 



t It in i din led iii Antikvarisl Tid88krift (Arch«B3ljj;ical Review ), l846->48, pp. 150-153, 

 and in Rescriptsamliny (Collection of Ordinances), by Ussing. 



