Christian Jürgensen Thomsen 

Christian Jürgensen Thomsen (1788–1865) was a Danish archaeologist and director of the Danish National Museum in Copenhagen. While curating and organising the “Collection of Nordic Antiquities,” he developed the Three-Age System: the division of prehistory into the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. This framework provided human history with its first chronological structure and established Thomsen as a pioneer of modern archaeology.

Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae 

Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae (1821–1885) was a student of Thomsen, like Engelhardt, and is regarded as one of the founders of modern archaeology. He was among the first to conduct systematic excavations and to use the stratigraphic sequence of soil layers to date archaeological finds. In this way, he was the first to scientifically confirm the succession of the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age.

König Frederik VII 

Frederik VII (1808–1865) was King of Denmark and Duke of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg. Beyond his official role, he was an important patron of Danish antiquity studies. He dedicated himself to the investigation of burial mounds and often personally took part in excavations. His interest not only secured financial support for the young discipline of archaeology, but also provided pioneers such as Thomsen, Worsaae, and Engelhardt with the necessary backing for their scholarly work.