Felix Höflmayer, Agnes Woitzuck
IIAS Conference Room, HMO 0.28
NINO guests Felix Höflmayer and Agnes Woitzuck (Austrian Academy of Sciences) will give a Lunch Talk in the Ancient Worlds Lecture Series.
It is not uncommon that scholars and institutions invest a considerable amount of time, money, and initiative in excavation projects that do not see a timely publication or any publication at all. Usually, the next generation of scholars takes care about the legacy data and tries to reconstruct stratigraphy, contexts, and dating of objects based on usually incomplete data. Only rarely the specific academic, but also political, circumstances that led to the specific project are encountered, although they often have a significant impact on which data has been recorded and which has been neglected. Additionally, the whereabouts of finds, documentation, and additional archival material are rarely reported, although also this kind of data is the result of an excavation project and might be helpful for future researchers.
We report on our ongoing studies of the archival material, still preserved documentation, and finds of the Austrian (1913–14) and German (1926–1939) excavations under the direction of the German theologist Ernst Sellin and its connections with Frans de Liagre Böhl and the Dutch Sichem committee. Except for some preliminary reports, the excavation was never finally published as Sellin’s manuscript was destroyed during World War II. Documents and finds have so far been located in Austria, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, and the United States in more than a dozen different museums, universities, and archives. We present the biography of this excavation, describe the post-excavation itinerary of finds and documentation, and our plans for final publication.
Ancient Worlds Lunch Talks, Spring semester 2025: Wednesday 14 May, 13:00-14:00 hrs – free pizza and everyone is welcome to bring lunch.
This will be an opportunity to exchange ideas and latest research in an informal atmosphere with a small audience of MA and PhD students, Postdocs and Faculty of the ONOS and CAC program and all interested students and colleagues of Classics, History and Archaeology.