Newsletter

German Archaeological Institute

Attention:

In some e-mail applications may occur errors when reproducing HTML emails. In this case, either your application will provide a "reload missing pictures"-function or you can use a webbrowser to visualize the entire newsletter online or in a PDF-Version (1.23MB).

Within the framework of the kulturweit volunteer programme of the Foreign Office, the DAI is offering assignments for volunteers in Madrid, Istanbul and Damascus

kulturweit is the name of the new cultural volunteer programme of the Foreign Office, which is being implemented in cooperation with the German UNESCO Commission. Based on the regulations for the Voluntary Social Year, the programme offers young people aged between 18 and 26 a chance to get involved in foreign policy projects in the field of culture and education. Partners in the programme include the German Archaeological Institute, the Goethe Institute and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), which since 1 September 2009 have been looking after over 200 volunteers working on a variety of assignments around the world. Among the locations for kulturweit volunteers are the Madrid and Istanbul departments and the Damascus branch of Orient Department of the DAI. Next year more departments are expected to join the programme.

On a six-month assignment three volunteers can gain a comprehensive view of the kind of work done by a DAI department abroad, and will be assigned to help, for example, in the production of publications and the presentation of archaeological data about the host country, and even take part in archaeological work (at present only possible in Damascus). They will work in the departments‘ specialist, publicly accessible libraries and in the archaeological archives, and assist in the public presentation of the work of the department to which they have been assigned.

above: Participants of 'kulturweit' at the German Embassy. ©: Alexander Ahrens/DAI Damaskus

below: The 'kulturweit' volunteer in Damascus helped to set up and staff the DAI information desk at the Embassy reception on German Unification Day. ©: Alexander Ahrens/DAI Damaskus

Temporary accommodation finally found for the Rome Department

After lengthy negotiations, temporary accommodation has now been arranged for the Rome Department. New premises are to be rented near the Termini railway station at Via Curtatone 4d – hence in the area between the former Baths of Diocletian and the barracks of the Praetorian Guard. The move is already underway, which means that large sections of the library will be able to open again in the near future. The rest of the holdings have been transported to an interim storage depot at the edge of the city and will be accessible in restricted fashion via a mobile library. The new institute building is expected to open in January 2010. Restoration work on the old building on Via Sardegna has already begun and should be finished in three to four years‘ time according to the estimate of the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning.

„A find of European significance“

During excavations at the village of Waldgirmes (in the community of Lahnau in Lahn-Dill district) on 12 August 2009, a team directed by Dr. Rasbach and Dr. Becker – both from the Roman-Germanic Commission of the DAI – discovered a life-sized horse‘s head from a gilded Roman equestrian statue.
„In terms of quality this bronze sculpture is among the finest pieces ever found on the territory of the Roman Empire.“ With these words, federal state minister Eva Kühne-Hörmann unveiled the horse‘s head as well as a shoe of the rider at a press conference in Frankfurt; the press conference was also attended by the First Director of the Roman-Germanic ComGerman Archaeological Institute mission, Prof. Dr. Friedrich Lüth, and by the director of the heritage office of the state of Hesse, Prof. D. Egon Schallmayer. As an archaeological discovery the gilded horse head is of comparable significance to the „Celtic Prince“ of Glauberg and the Nebra sky disc. In recent years, the excavations at Waldgirmes have repeatedly brought to light fragments of a life-sized equestrian statue that probably depicted Emperor Augustus (23 BC–14 AD). For example, a horse‘s foot has been recovered along with the beautifully ornamented collar of a harness. In August 2009 archaeologists then unearthed the head of the horse almost fully intact (approx. 55 cm long and weighing 25kg) while they were excavating in one of the two wooden wells detected at the site. The find lay on the well bottom at a depth of eleven metres. The bridle on the horse‘s head is richly decorated with six sculpted discs. An oval disc on the horse‘s forehead bears a relief of Mars, god of war, while depictions of the goddess of victory known as victorias are attached to the sides of the bridle.

The political significance of the find, suggested by the imperial background, is further underlined by the outstanding quality of the workmanship. Only two comparable pieces survive from the territory of the Roman Empire: the two equestrian statues in the group of Cartoceto Bronzes from Cartoceto di Pergola in the province of Pesaro and Urbino (Marche region) in Italy – the originals are today on display at the National Museum in Ancona. The dating and identification of the depicted figures in the Cartoceto Bronzes are still a matter of debate in the academic world. The new find from Waldgirmes may represent a new opportunity for dating and thus identifying the Cartoceto works since the period in which the equestrian statue stood in the Roman town on the Lahn can be narrowed down to less than two decades.

The equestrian statue must have been erected in the years 4 or 3 BC – the time of the foundation of the Roman town at Waldgirmes. In 9 AD, after the defeat of Varus in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, the Romans abandoned the settlement. The Germans who came after them destroyed the statue, casting the head into the well in a ritual act and presumably reusing the remainder. The horse‘s head and the over 100 other large and small fragments of the equestrian statue are currently undergoing restoration and conservation in the workshops of the Hesse heritage office. The bronze and iron material as well as the remains of the gold leaf application are being subjected to archaeometallurgical analysis. At the same time the timber finds from the well construction and some wooden implements are being restored and conserved. Furthermore, archaeobotanical analysis of the contents of the well is planned, as this may throw light on the vegetation surrounding the Roman settlement, which may allow inferences about the character of the cultivated landscape in the vicinity of Waldgirmes.

Further information on the RGK‘s work at Waldgirmes, in progress since 1993, can be found at: http://www.dainst.org/index.php?id=0824b37863dd14a91601001c3253dc21.

Opening of the Red Hall in Pergamon

On 27 September 2009, after four years‘ work conserving the edifice and converting it into a museum, the south rotunda of the Red Hall in Pergamon was opened to visitors. The town of Bergama/Pergamon thus has one more attraction for tourists interested in culture, since the round tower is a unique specimen of Roman architecture of the 2nd century AD in the eastern Mediterranean area. Before the start of restoration work, which the Istanbul Department of the DAI was able to carry out thanks to the support of the Studiosus Foundation e. V. in the framework of the Ernst Reuter Initiative of the Foreign Office, the Red Hall stood in grave danger of further deterioration.
Inside the tower the original base of the vault had caved in; outside, the wall coping and the original dome construction in the badly weathered parts threatened to collapse. Through the implementation of careful measures, which also sought to preserve the traces of use in the centuries that followed, the existing structure was secured and conserved for use as a museum. The dome was re-roofed with protective lead sheeting in a manner in keeping with the context, while the interior received a new floor, and a new storage depot was built to the south of the tower amid the remains of a 19th century factory building. The depot now stores archaeological finds which were previously kept in the tower in unsatisfactory conditions. A small number of these finds has now returned to the restored tower for display. A major contribution has thus been made to the preservation of one of the largest and most important Roman architectural complexes in the eastern Mediterranean area.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey, Ertugrul Günay, the ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Eckart Cuntz, the Governor of Izmir Province, Cahit Kiraç, in addition to more than 200 guests. Following the ceremony a reception was held in the German expedition house.
In his speech the minister emphasized the high quality of German excavations in Turkey and thanked the DAI for its successful work in heritage conservation and preservation. The German ambassador underlined the great significance of archaeology in the spectrum of cultural cooperation between Germany and Turkey. In his speech the director of the Istanbul Department and director of the excavations, Prof. Dr. Felix Pirson, expressed the hope that the south tower of the Red Halle and the sculptures exhibited there would become a new tourist attraction and thus be another source of revenue for the old town of Bergama.

More information on the activities at Pergamon is available here: http://www.dainst.org/index_6154ad0cbb1f14a173730017f0000011_de.html

below: Opening ceremony at the rotunda. From left to right: Ambassador E. Cuntz, R. Hopfer-Kubsch (Studiosus Foundation e.V.), B. Ulusoy (president of TÜRSAB), Minister of Culture and Tourism E. Günay, Provincial Governor C. Kiraç

Enlargement of the Archaeological Bibliography. New search possibilities in ZENON

For some years now the online catalogue ZENON DAI has brought together the library catalogues and bibliographies of the DAI on one interface. The entire data stock of the Archaeological Bibliography since 1956 (formerly Dyabola) in addition to the Bibliography on the Iberian Peninsula are thus available online, free of charge, up-to-date and around the world. The Archaeological Bibliography in ZENON DAI is continuously updated by the departments in Rome, Athens, Berlin and Istanbul; the Madrid Department remains responsible for the bibliography on the Iberian Peninsula. Incoming publications and articles from approx. 900 international scientific journals as well as from congress reports and commemorative publications are constantly processed and the keywords are entered into the database. You can start a search by using the link Archaeological Bibliographies.
The data stock has since been expanded with the result that now virtually the complete library stock of the Athens Department is accessible in ZENON DAI. This means it is now possible to search through the majority of the stocks of the large archaeological libraries of the DAI in Rome, Athens and Istanbul and through large parts of the other departments‘ libraries.
ZENON DAI is already the most important catalogue and the biggest bibliography in the field of archaeological sciences. In the foreseeable future the bibliography of the Roman-Germanic Commission will be integrated, substantially expanding the data stock. It is possible to browse in ZENON DAI directly using personal reference management programmes such as Endnote or Citavi and to store the titles in accordance with the DAI citation guidelines. An introduction can be found on the homepage: http://opac.dainst.org.
In addition, a new and more convenient research interface in different languages is expected to start operating within the year.

Archaeological Knowledge and the Semantic Web

For three years now the DAI and the Research Archive for Ancient Sculpture at the University of Cologne have pursued a collaborative project to study the possibilities for the system-independent processing of archaeological information. In the context of this ongoing study, the recognition of the CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model as ISO-Standard in 2006 played a fundamental role. This model is a necessary component of the infrastructure of data treatment, and allows collaborative management of archaeological object data. The collaborative project furthers the development of CIDOC-CRM to process and present these types of data.
Initially, innovative cases of application concerning all parts of the project are gathered and the respective archaeological data is processed. The next step is the development of software components that allow a transparent treatment of archaeological knowledge, according to the ideas of the semantic web. A key role will be played by the implementation of components which facilitate the handling of the structural and terminological heterogeneity of different archaeological information systems. It is in this sense that CIDOC CRM will be applied to represent overall structural attributes.
Further, the usage of multilingual controlled vocabularies and the methods of data mining for the concatenation of syntactically combined data will be examined. The problem of heterogeneous types of content emerges especially when considering the usage of different terminologies and different languages in an international scientific context. The application of data-mining methods for the extraction of archaeological object data from publications and ancient texts can be exemplified by the collaboration with Perseus Digital Library and the eAqua-project for automatic speech-processing at the University of Leipzig. The ultimate step will be to provide all resulting data for processing inside the semantic web.
The collaboration of the DAI and the Perseus Digital Library has already seen first attempts to provide archaeological object data which conform to the CRM. As a partner of the Perseus Digital Library as well as of the CLAROSnet project, the DAI will further the development of these fundamental concepts, culminating in the provision of a generally usable application. The presentation of a first prototype has already shown the possibility of extracting data from two different databases (Arachne and Perseus) and the processing of this data through a new web-interface that implements new ways to exploit the information in question. The ramifications of this project for the institutions and scientists involved in terms of technology and content as well as financial and personal resources have been discussed during a workshop on the 23rd and 24th November 2009. One of the workshop‘s objectives was to inform archaeologists about CIDOC-CRM and its potential.
While most computer scientists working in the humanities and the arts have become quite familiar with the reference model, it is still largely unknown among actual end users, the academic experts. Therefore it is important that users and developers come together and think about future research scenarios that become possible through an interlinked infrastructure. Also the exchange of practical experience in implementing and using systems with CIDOC-CRM has to be facilitated.

Further information can be found at:http://www.dainst.org/index_792ab811f98014a95085001c3253dc21_de.html

Exhibition „Alexander the Great and the Opening of the World“

3 October 2009 – 21 February 2010

Few figures in world history have exerted such fascination over the centuries as Alexander the Great, who stands at the centre of the special exhibition „Alexander the Great and the Opening of the World. Asia‘s Cultures in Change“. There is a novel focus to this exhibition, jointly organized by the Eurasia Department of the DAI and the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums of Mannheim. While in the past exhibitions about Alexander the Great have generally been limited to his activity and influence in Europe and Egypt, the Mannheim exhibition shifts the focus to central Asia.
The journey in the footsteps of the legendary Macedonian ruler commences in the ancient city of Babylon – gateway, for the Greeks, to an unknown world. The exhibition follows Alexander the Great on his expedition of conquest through the vast Persian Empire, ruled over by the Achaemenid kings. These kings were foes for the young Alexander, but at the same time their culture and political structure was a source of fascination to him. Not only did he subsequently adopt the Achaemenid economic and administrative system, but he came ultimately to see himself as the successor to the Persian kings.

Alexander‘s military campaign, which lasted eleven years, brought about radical cultural, economic and social upheaval. Nothing was the same again. Conquest meant that the peoples of central Asia were confronted with Greek culture and the Greek way of life. Conversely, Alexander‘s army and followers came into contact with the Persian world and the regional cultures of central Asia. The long-lasting reciprocal effects of these encounters are explored in depth at the exhibition. As well as directing the spotlight on the east of Alexander‘s realm, the exhibition also illustrates the region‘s cultural diversity both before and after the campaign. For following Alexander‘s untimely death and the break-up of his empire, Greek influence persisted. Centuries later, craftsmen of the region continued to fashion works which strike us as oddly familiar and yet alien. More than 400 objects are on display; some of them are being shown in Europe for the first time. They bear striking testimony to the intense exchange between Greek, Persian and central Asian cultures.
A particular highlight of the exhibition is the presentation of results of the Eurasia Department‘s archaeological excavations (concluded in 2008) on the site of a fortress at Kurganzol in Uzbekistan. The fortress, which was probably built by Alexander, was found to contain many traces of Greek culture, including a bathtub, an appliance which is attested only in the Mediterranean area for this early period. The testimony of this bygone age is brought to life at the exhibition. A specially developed multi-media installation presents a detailed reconstruction of the fortress of Kurganzol. Other installations give visitors a sense of the enormous distances Alexander covered on his conquests, and recreate the great city of Babylon.

An international scientific colloquium initiated by the Eurasia Department was held on October 2nd to coincide with the opening of the exhibition, which attracted about 3,000 visitors on the first weekend.

The exhibition runs from 3 October 2009 to 21 February 2010 in the Museum of World Cultures D5 of the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums.
Opening hours: Tues–Sun 11 am to 6 pm. Admission for adults € 10
To accompany the exhibition, the publishers Schnell & Steiner have produced a richly illustrated catalogue with 638 colour illustrations and 448 pages. Price at the exhibition: € 24.90

above: Golden belt-buckle with boar-hunting scene, 1st/2nd cent. AD, National Museum of Ancient Tajikistan, Dushanbe

centre: Head of Buddha from Kara Tepe (Bactria)/Uzbekistan, 3rd cent. AD
State Museum of Oriental Art, Moscow, © The federal state culture institution State Museum of Oriental Art (Moscow) / Evgeny Zheltov

below: Head of Buddha from Kara Tepe (Bactria)/Uzbekistan, 3rd cent. AD
State Museum of Oriental Art, Moscow, © The federal state culture institution State Museum of Oriental Art (Moscow) / Evgeny Zheltov

More than just books: The DAI at the Frankfurt Book Fair, 14–18 October 2009

This year the Institute is once again present with its own stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The DAI‘s presence at the fair reflects the fact that China is this year‘s guest country and also that it has opened a new branch in Beijing. Alongside new publications by DAI departments and branches around the world, a new edition of books entitled „Archaeology in China“ will be presented to the public for the first time. The DAI stand, Hall 5.0 D949, offers visitors a wealth of information in German, English and Chinese about the Institute, the Eurasia Department – to which the Beijing Branch will be attached – and about current research projects in China.
At a podium discussion, distinguished Chinese and German colleagues working in the area of museums will exchange their views about the role of archaeological museums in the formation of identity.

Podium discussion on Friday 16 October, 12 am – 1 pm, in the International Centre:
In China as in Germany, prestigious museums built at the site of archaeological discoveries are increasingly becoming places where local cultural identity is graphically presented and experienced. The Jinsha Museum at the heart of the capital of the central Chinese province of Sichuan is a notable example of this trend, with its vigorous PR activities. Gold masks and sculptures as well as the vestiges of elephant cults, explicitly linked to the inhabitants of the Chengdu Valley 3,000 years ago, draw enormous crowds.

Even better known than Jinsha is the nearby site of Sanxingdui, where sensational discoveries made in the mid 1980s include giant bronze masks and a larger-than-life-sized bronze sculpture. The objects were evidently part of lavish temple decorations which, for reasons that remain obscure, were ceremonially buried in two pits with a large number of elephant tusks. The Sanxingdui Museum, erected near the original site, is now one of the largest such museums in China.
In the publicity material of both museums emphasis is placed on the differentness of the local culture to the contemporaneous Chinese civilization to the north. The modern-day inhabitants of Sichuan identify strongly with these ancient cultures because, centuries later, they were assimilated into the Chinese cultural tradition.
In Germany, a similar identity-forming role is played by the Museum of the Varus Battle at Kalkriese, where the 2,000th anniversary of the victory of Germanic tribes over the Romans will be marked this year. The multi-media Nebra Museum transports its visitors back 3,600 years and is one of four stations on the new tourist route „Himmelswege“ which links up archaeologically significant sites in southern Saxony-Anhalt.
The instrumentalization of historical events and specific local developments to promote historical awareness and to encourage ties to a particular locality will be addressed in the expert discussion.

Taking part in the discussion:
Prof. Zhu Zhang Yi, director of the Jinsha Museum, Chengdu
Prof. Huo Wei, director of the Institute of Tibetan Studies at Sichuan University, Chengdu
Heidrun Derks, Kalkriese Museum and Park
Dr. Alfred Reichenberger, head of press office of the Regional Museum of Prehistory, Halle

16th Beijing International Book Fair, 3–7 September 2009

In September, the Institute participated for the first time in the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF: www.bibf.net) with the support of the Foreign Office and the German Embassy in Beijing. With 1,300 exhibitors and over 200,000 visitors the BIBF is Asia‘s biggest international book fair. A selection of the Eurasia Department‘s latest publications was on display at Germany‘s stand in the International Hall of the BIBF. Colleagues from the Institute were on hand to give information and answer questions.

Ancient history, archaeology and the public. Towards a new dialogue between science and the media

26 – 28 November 2009 in the visitors‘ centre of the Foreign Office

The Freiburg-based research group „History in Popular Cultures“ in conjunction with the DAI and other partners is organizing a public conference consisting of a podium discussion followed by a workshop on 26 - 28 November 2009. The event brings together experts in the fields of history, archaeology, museum, film production and journalism, i.e. representatives of the media involved in history-related broadcasts as well as scientists with an interest in the media communication of this subject matter.
There is currently considerable public interest in ancient history and archaeology as well as practical research projects conducted in the various disciplines. Media producers, scientists, and in some cases both sides in cooperation, are thus supplying a large market with various forms and formats of presenting history.
Criticism of the presentation style and content of history programmes and films has been voiced especially frequently by the scientific community in recent years. Still, it is often not easy for researchers to communicate their objectives and results in such a manner that it can be understood by the general public. Journalists, non-fiction authors and film producers certainly know how to reach large audiences with their reports and media formats, but at the same time they may still sometimes appreciate having the advice and assistance of scientists and indeed specific partners in the production of individual projects.
The aim of this event is to encourage a fruitful dialogue among all the parties involved, and to create conditions for improved cooperation. The conference will not only attempt to describe the existing situation in various media formats and from different perspectives. Above all it aims – through the discussion of current examples of successful dialogue between science and its communication – to explore the opportunities of learning from each other, which could ultimately lead to the initiation of concrete cooperation projects (for research, teaching and media conception).
Within the framework of the public conference, talks will be given by representatives of the media and scientific communities in the visitors‘ centre of the Foreign Office on 26 and 27 November. On Thursday 26 November from 8 to 10 p.m. high-calibre media and science specialists will discuss the topic of history and archaeology in feature films (in association with the Gerda Henkel Foundation).

Full details of the programme of the conference are available here: http://www.dainst.org/index_e7f37875016e14a83271001c3253dc21_de.html

Digital Plant Atlas

The Digital Plant Atlas is a joint project of the DAI and the Groningen Institute of Archaeology (GIA) and the Community and Conservation Ecology Group (COCON) – both belonging to the State University of Groningen (Netherlands). Each volume of the Digital Plant Atlas is published as a combination of book and website. The books contain colour photos of all the plant parts presented as well as extensive indices.
The Digital Atlas of Economic Plants, to be published shortly, will contain plant parts that have an economic value and are offered for sale at markets and in shops. The atlas illustrates nearly 4,000 of the approximately 10,000 plant species of economic value around the world; the photos are generally of their seeds and fruits, but occasionally other plant parts, too, such as leaves or tubers. In addition, examples of end products like oil and fibres are shown. The atlas includes 3,953 taxa with 10,000 photos; taxa represent 272 plant families and 1,656 genera.
More information is available at: www.pflanzenatlas.eu

R.T.J. Cappers, R. Neef & R.M. Bekker, Digital Atlas of Economic Plants. Three volumes, over 1,800 pages, hardcover, size 21 x29.7 cm (A4 format) Languages: trilingual introduction (German, English and Dutch), and 12 indices (scientific plant names, pharmaceutical names; German, English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Arabic, Turkish, Chinese, Hindi, Sanskrit, Malayalam).
Price for advance orders placed before 1 October 2009 only € 245, thereafter € 325.
Purchase of the book grants access to the protected area of the website.

Important note for visitors to the central library and archives

Owing to major renovation and relocation measures at the Berlin site of the German Archaeological Institute, the access to the archive at the head office will be restricted from the beginning of December 2009 through to presumably the end of January 2010. We kindly ask for your understanding that during that period we will not be able to welcome any visitors at the archive. The archive will be moving to the nearby site of our Eurasia department (Im Dol 2, Haus II, 14195 Berlin). We will then open the archive to the public again step by step, please refer to our homepage (www.dainst.org) to keep informed about the progress.

Furthermore only restricted use of the library will be possible in the period between December 2009 and May 2010. Therefore, please contact the library staff at bibliothek@dainst.de before you plan any long-term visits.

Be assured that we will do our best to attend enquiries but want to apologise in advance for any delay in processing. We would be grateful if you could convey this information to colleagues who would find it helpful.

More information material is available for download as PDF files at presse@dainst.de or www.dainst.org/presse.
If you would like frequently updated information from the DAI, you can subscribe to our newsfeed (RSS). Just click the RSS button () in the top right-hand corner of the DAI homepage (www.dainst.org). Please recommend us and forward our newsletter to friends and colleagues!