Workers excavating
YUAG, Dura-Europos Collection, negative number dura-fXII10~01
In her 2011 article on the archival photographs from the Yale-French excavations, Jennifer Baird discusses the harsh reality of the situation in Syria during the French Mandate in depth: in view of the threat of famine, during the sixth season (1932-1933) workers’ pay was reduced so that more people could be offered employment (leading to a strike) and another 150 men were turned away. This photograph of workers actively excavating a block of houses during the sixth season provides a glimpse of the difficult working conditions of a large-scale excavation during the interwar period, and in the context of this exhibition, highlights and commemorates the contributions and labor of the Syrian men and boys who excavated the site and whose names do not appear in the photographic records or field diaries. There were approximately 100 workers in the first season and 300 from the fourth season on. Baird’s oral history research and future projects for the Yale Digital Dura-Europos Archive (YDEA) include partnerships with residents of Salihiyeh (the modern settlement on the Euphrates near Dura) and other Syrian colleagues that will hopefully build on and expand the capacities of digital platforms for rewriting the histories of the excavations and incorporating Syrians’ perspectives.
Learn more:
Interview with Prof. Jen Baird