From 1905 he studied at the
University of Munich as a pupil of
classical archaeologist Adolf Furtwängler, earning his doctorate in 1912. After serving as a soldier in the
Balkans during
World War I, he became an associate professor of classical archaeology at the
University of Erlangen. In 1920 he became a full professor at the
University of Freiburg. From 1921 to 1929, he was director of the
German Archaeological Institute at Athens. From 1929 to 1959, he served as a professor of classical archaeology at Munich. From 1922 to 1924, he conducted archaeological excavations in
Athens,
Olympia and
Amyklai (
Sparta), and for many years served as director of excavations on the island of
Samos (1925–1939; 1951–1961). In 1921 he became a full member of the
Bavarian Academy of Sciences. == Selected works ==