Thesis successfully defended and Scholkmann Prize won! – Thorsten Becker’s summer celebrations

With his presentation on East Frisian stone houses, delivered during his defence, Thorsten Becker succeeded in impressing the assessment committee at the University of Tübingen completely (Photo: C. Schulenberg, NIhK).

In recent years, Thorsten Becker has been working intensively on the analysis of extensive archaeological, historical and geographical data relating to fortifications erected primarily between the 12th and 15th centuries AD on the East Frisian peninsula. These had been compiled as part of the ‘Manifestation of Power’ project, funded by the State of Lower Saxony and led by Stefan Krabath, and stored in two extensive databases. In his detailed analysis of this information, Thorsten Becker used a geographical information system that enabled him to identify and analyse both local and regional developments in the history of settlement. In doing so, he succeeded in reconstructing in detail a hitherto little-known chapter of Frisian history – from the era of the cooperative regional communities, through the chieftain era, to the beginning of feudal rule – whilst highlighting the significance of the first stone buildings erected during this period. He was supported in his work by Natascha Mehler, holder of the Chair of Medieval Archaeology at the University of Tübingen, who also acted as his academic supervisor. In February 2026, Thorsten Becker finally submitted his study on stone houses – comprising more than 600 pages – as a doctoral thesis to the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Tübingen. The three external examiners unanimously concluded that the thesis should be awarded the grade ‘excellent’. On 15 July 2026, Thorsten Becker confirmed his impressive performance during the final defence and was awarded the grade ‘summa cum laude’. The Association for the Promotion of Medieval Archaeology at Hohentübingen Castle and the Department of Medieval Archaeology at the Institute for Prehistory, Early History and Medieval Archaeology at the University of Tübingen were also deeply impressed by Thorsten Becker’s doctoral thesis. Therefore, just one day after his doctoral defence, they awarded him the prestigious Barbara Scholkmann Prize for Historical Archaeology in Tübingen.