Raqqa: The Forgotten Excavation of an Islamic Site in Syria by the Ottoman Imperial Museum in the Early Twentieth Century

Raqqa, in Syria, was the only Islamic site excavated by the Ottoman Imperial Museum during its existence in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Although the Imperial Museum may not have been searching specifically for an Islamic site of the medieval period to excavate, its response to t...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. VerfasserIn: Yoltar-Yildirim, Ayşin (VerfasserIn)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
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Veröffentlicht: Brill 2014
In: Muqarnas
Jahr: 2014, Band: 30, Heft: 1, Seiten: 73-93
weitere Schlagwörter:B Raqqa Ottoman Imperial Museum Islamic archaeology Ottoman excavations Ottoman historiography Islamic ceramics Ottoman archives Macridy Çinili Köşk Halil Edhem Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum Halep
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Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Raqqa, in Syria, was the only Islamic site excavated by the Ottoman Imperial Museum during its existence in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Although the Imperial Museum may not have been searching specifically for an Islamic site of the medieval period to excavate, its response to the plundering of Raqqa, which began as early as 1899, was to pursue an archaeological excavation in a systematic manner. Two campaigns were conducted, under the directorships of Macridy and Haydar Bey, in 1905–6 and 1908 respectively. Although not lasting more than a couple of months, they were relatively important from the perspective of the Imperial Museum and Islamic archaeology at that time. This article focuses on the history of these Raqqa excavations, namely, the reasons the Imperial Museum began excavating there, how it conducted its excavations, and, finally, the finds and the way they were displayed at the Museum. Existing archival documents on the excavation, along with the earliest inventories of the finds in the Imperial Museum and the personal letters of Macridy, all hitherto unpublished, are analyzed in order to shed light on these long forgotten excavations.
ISSN:2211-8993
Enthält:In: Muqarnas
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/22118993-0301P0005