Exhibition Opening: Photographs of Dura-Europos

March 14, 2022

On Wednesday, March 9th, former ISM Fellow Dr. Blair Fowlkes Childs led the opening of our “Photographs of Dura-Europos: 1922-2022 and Onward” exhibition in Miller Hall.

The exhibition – which will remain installed in Miller Hall and on our website until June 1st – 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. 

CLICK TO VISIT THE ONLINE EXHIBITION

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.

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