Jankuhn completed his habilitation at the University of Kiel in 1935. Since 1930, Jankuhn had conducted excavations at the Viking Age settlement of Hedeby. From 1938, with the help of Ahnenerbe, Jankuhn organized the excavations at Hedeby into one of the largest archaeological projects in the world. The results of his excavations at Hedeby were initially published in 1936, and have since been republished in numerous revised editions.
