Ernst Herzfeld: Große Moschee, Südfront, 1911, Glasnegativ, 13 x 18 cm, Museum für Islamische Kunst, Inv. Nr. Pl. Sam 307

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VOICES AND MEMORIES OF SAMARRA

In 2013, for the 100 year anniversary of the excavation, the Museum of Islamic Art showed an exhibition of the legendary residential city Samarra, located around 120 km north of Baghdad by the Tigris, which served as a seat of government for the powerful Abbasid Caliphate from 836 to 892. Samarra was one of the world's most elaborate city complexes. It covered an almost 50 km expanse with its gigantic palaces, mosques, hunting reserves, polo playing fields and horse racing tracks.The following interviews were given as part of the exhibition <a href="https://www.smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/museum-fuer-islamische-kunst/exhibitions/detail/samarra-centre-of-the-world/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">"Samarra - Centre of the World, 100 and 1 Years of Archaeological Research by the Tigris"</a>.

A contribution by Zein Alnaqshbandi and Omar Hussein.

Samarra 2012

Samarra - the centre of the world

Excavtion and sites in Samarra

A contribution by Amir and Miriam Mahdi.

Samarra in the '80s

Samarra in the Museum for Islamic Art

Digitalisation was made possible by the German Digital Library as part of the NEUSTART CULTURE (CULTURE RESTART) programme sponsored by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM).

Ernst Herzfeld used two cameras that he brought from Germany, along with photographic materials: an Agfa camera for the glass plates and a Kodak camera for plastic films.Around 1.500 black/white negatives are preserved today, as well as a few large colour diapositives. After over a hundred years, some of the original glass plates, negative and diapositives are badly damaged. The glass plates are somewhat fragile (Pl. Sam 258, Pl. Sam 490). One decay process that occurs very frequently, and is easy to recognise, is known as 'silver mirror' and causes a metallic blue gloss, particuarly in corners and at borders (Pl. Sam 284).

Another typical aging process involves the emulsion peeling off. Emulsion is the light-sensitive layer on the glass support, i.e. the side that shows the picture. The adhesion between the emulsion and the glass support may dissolve as a result of moisture and/or temperature fluctuations. The layer may sometimes flake (Pl. Sam 415) and is vulnerable to scratches. Water can even cause the picture to become completely lost (Pl. Sam 473).

Today, the negatives and diapositives are stored in an archive at a special temperature and only moved with great care.Making the originals accessible via digitalisation now means that they do not need to be picked up and moved, which prevents these unique testimonies from being further destroyed.

Even the museum employees were not fully aware of the portfolio, due to the fragile preservation conditions of the originals and the limited accessibility in the photo archive.This led to the idea of asking current and former employees to take a closer look into the digital reproductions for the special exhibition "Samarra Revisited - New Perspectives on the Excavation Photographs from the Palaces of the Caliph". 24 participants chose five photographs from Samarra which touched on their areas of work.

DIGITALISING SAMARRA

In 762, Baghdad was founded by the Abbasid dynasty (749-1258) as the capital. Iraq developed into a hub of international trade with political contacts at the courts of the Chinese and Byzantine emperors, and the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne. Culture and science blossomed, with translations of ancient works and sustainable performances in geography, philosophy, medicine, astronomy and mathematics. Cultural and scientific developments of the period are also of great significance for the history of Europe. The reign of the Abbasids came to an end with the destruction of Baghdad in 1258 by the Mongols.

The documentation of the daily excavation work appears to have been of great concern to Herzfeld. As well as photographs of architecture and sites, he also documented the hard physical labour of the excavation workers in some photos.Herzfeld did not just organise the work, but also photographed, kept and managed excavation and site log books alone. Today, and in excavation projects of similar significance at the time, a whole team would be commissioned for the task.

THE CAPITAL OF A GLOBAL EMPIRE OVER TIME

This led to the idea of asking current and former employees to take a closer look into the digital reproductions. 24 participants chose five photographs from Samarra which touched on their areas of work. You can find each of their "favourite photos" with comments as a digital print in the exhibition. All the other digital reproductions chosen, and the reasons for their choice, are available in the media station.This selection shows the wide spectrum of possible uses for excavation photographs: they help archaeologists and provenance researchers to locate sites - RESEARCH. They show that excavation photographers also endeavoured in the past to enable a comparison of their photographs with the originals - COMPARE. As the photographed site situations become lost forever as a result of the excavation work, the significance of photography must not be underestimated!However, the photos also act as links to current social discourses - QUESTIONING. They delight and inspire - JOY. Finally, the photos shown here document a formidable site of Islamic archaeology with a charm and appeal that has not been lost today - LOCATE.