‎Lisa Brody, Anne Hunnell Chen (eds)‎
‎Dura-Europos: Past, Present, Future‎

‎, Brepols, 2025 Paperback, Pages: xvi + 245, Size:216 x 280 mm, Illustrations:33 b/w, 53 col., 2 tables b/w., Languages: English, Arabic. ISBN 9782503616049.‎

Reference : 70591

‎Summary This volume brings together an international and interdisciplinary host of scholars to reflect on the complicated legacies of exploration at the archaeological site of Dura-Europos, situated on the western bank of the Euphrates River near modern Salihiyeh (Syria). A chance discovery after World War I kicked off a series of excavations that would span the next century and whose finds are today housed in collections worldwide, including the Yale University Art Gallery, the Louvre, and the National Museum in Damascus. Dura-Europos exemplifies a multiethnic frontier town at the crossroads of major trade routes. Its textual remains and remarkably-preserved Christian, Jewish, and polytheist religious sanctuaries provide key resources for the study of antiquity and attest to the cross-cultural interconnectivity that was demonstrably central to the ancient world but which has been too often obscured by Eurocentric historiographic traditions and siloed disciplinary divisions. Foreign-run, large-scale archaeological campaigns of the early twentieth century, like those at Dura-Europos, have created narratives of power and privilege that often exclude local communities. The significance of these imbalances is entangled with the destruction the site has experienced since the 2011 outbreak of conflict in Syria. As a step toward making knowledge descendant of early excavations more accessible, this volume includes Arabic summaries of each paper, following up on the simultaneous Arabic interpretation provided at the 2022 hybrid conference whose proceedings form the core of this publication. The papers address topics connected to essential themes in relation to Dura-Europos: long-distance trade relations and cross-border interactions in antiquity, including the exchange of technologies, people, and materials; Christianity, Judaism, and other religious practices, and their relations to one another; contemporary trafficking of looted artifacts; cultural heritage and the Islamic State; and the evolving role of museum collections, technologies, and archival materials for research. TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents List of Illustrations List of Contributors 1. Introduction Lisa R. Brody, and Anne Hunell Chen 2. Rostovtzeff's Dura Ja? Elsner 3. 'Dura and the Problem of Parthian Art' (almost) a Hundred Years Later Henry P. Colburn 4. The Bloody Genesis of Dura-Europos Studies: Archaeology, Colonialism, and Violence at Salhiyeh, 1916-1920 and Beyond Simon James 5. The So-Called Semitic Population of the Roman Near East with Special Reference to Dura-Europos Kevin van Bladel 6. A Few Notes on Parthian Dura-Europos Leonardo Gregoratti 7. Monuments and Memory at Dura-Europos Ted Kaizer 8. The Bone Dolls from Dura-Europos: Embodying Childhood Experience Juliet Samson-Conlon 9. Touching and Inscribing the Dura- Europos Synagogue Karen Stern 10. New Trends in Mithraic Studies: Experiencing the Dura-Europos Mithraeum Lucinda Dirven 11. Staying at Home or Taking Away: Palmyrene Priestly Iconography as Expressions of Local Religious Traditions and Societal Status Rubina Raja Arabic abstract 12. Military Communities from East to West: Understanding Local Contexts and Responses at Dura-Europos and Vindolanda Elizabeth M. Greene, and Craig A. Harvey 13. The Ruins that Remain: Remembering Dura-Europos in Salhiyeh J. A. Baird, and Adnan Almohamad with Asaad Alsaleh 14. The Pillaging of Dura-Europos: ISIS and the Illicit Trade in Antiquities Amr Al Azm 15. A Legal Framework for Protecting Heritage Against Destruction and Looting Leila A. Amineddoleh‎