Lorenz Rahmstorf is Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology and Director of the Department of Prehistory and Early History at the University of Göttingen. As a schoolboy he was enthusiastic about the ancient Romans and the Germanic peoples. During his studies in Heidelberg he was drawn to earlier epochs. He is particularly interested in the questions of how early complex societies emerged and functioned, how cultures were in contact with each other and how they influenced each other. He took part in excavations in Germany, France, Greece, Israel and Egypt. He developed a special interest in the Aegean Bronze Age during his studies in Heidelberg (Germany) and Bristol (UK). During several years of a work and research in Greece he wrote a dissertation on the Late Bronze Age small finds from the Mycenaean citadel of Tiryns in the Peloponnese. He was fascinated by the possibility to draw new knowledge from small inconspicuous settlement finds. The discovery of markings on cylindrical stone objects initiated his research since 2002 on weights and measures. The investigations focussed on the importance of weighing equipment during the Bronze Age in the whole area from the Atlantic to the Indus. In a large research project (ERC-2014-CoG 'WEIGHTANDVALUE: Weight metrology and its economic and social impact on Bronze Age Europe, West and South Asia'; duration 2015-2020/2022) he was able to investigate this as the Principal Investigator with several collaborators. His research focus is thus on early trade and cultural contacts in late prehistory.