“At the beginning of our civilisation there is the ritual. Archaeological evidence proofs the practice of recurring jointly organized and ritualized actions in specially erected halls and monuments. Those actions have been dedicated to a higher thought and strengthened a sense of community. Rituals always end in celebrations, with actions purposefully separated from everyday life, so we are able to go beyond normative boundaries of our ordinary living. The Vienna Ball of Sciences corresponds to this description: In 2017, the ball is taking place for the third time, it is celebrating Austrian research in its excellence and diversity and is putting all of the 220.000 people teaching, researching, studying and working in Vienna’s scientific community in the centre of interest.”

Wolfgang Neubauer is director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology as well as associate professor at the Institute of Prehistoric and Early Historic Archaeology at Universität Wien. In 2015, he was Austria’s Scientist of the Year. 

Photo: Roland Ferrigato/Klub der Bildungs- und WissenschaftsjournalistInnen