Location: Online
Admission: Free
Open to: General Public
Description: Curated by Blair Fowlkes-Childs (ISM fellow, 2019–2020)
The exhibition connects the past, present, and future of research on Dura-Europos, Syria, and forms part of Yale’s centennial commemoration of the Yale-French Excavations. The contribution of Dura-Europos to our understanding of cultural diversity and religious life in the ancient Middle East is extraordinary. Houses renovated for use as a synagogue and a Christian building are among the nineteen religious buildings that have been excavated, providing us with a remarkable glimpse of the coexistence of polytheists and monotheists in the middle of the third century.
The exhibition also fosters broad discussion of threats to archaeological sites (satellite images on view document extensive recent looting at Dura-Europos since the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Syria began in 2011) and underscores the importance of current and future digital preservation efforts, new research projects on legacy collections from early excavations, and open accessibility to archival material.