The glass from the track

Between 1903 and 1918, work was undertaken on the so-called Baghdad Railway, which was to traverse the Ottoman Empire and connect Konya with Baghdad. This was done with the massive participation of the German Empire and German companies, which is why the railway line was considered one of the largest German infrastructure projects and a masterpiece of engineering at the time. There can be no doubt that archaeological finds were also recovered during the construction of the line. The LEIZA’s collection includes over 60 glass vessels of Roman, early Byzantine and early Islamic origin, which were acquired by the RGZM between 1912 and 1914 and are thought to have come from Syria.

The project focuses on the question of whether the glass vessels were actually objects found during the construction of the Baghdad Railway and on the routes by which they were conveyed from Syria to the West. In addition, it is also of interest what role the actor networks of developers, authorities, diplomatic and political representatives, and museums and scientific societies played in the recovery and “redistribution” of the finds. How did the cooperation with local antiquities dealers work? What might have been the role of the Armenian forced labourers employed on the Baghdad Railway construction site? How was the transfer of antiquities to Europe perceived in the countries of origin, how was it evaluated by those responsible for the collection in the Empire? And can other archaeological (glass) objects from the context of the construction of the Baghdad Railway be found in German or European collections?

The aim of the project is to identify the individuals, structures and mechanisms that shaped the recovery of archaeological finds and the trade in ancient objects between the German Empire and Syria, which was then under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The research work is characterised by an interdisciplinary approach: the historical provenance research of archival sources is in the foreground, but at the same time the glass objects are also archaeologically examined in order to secure the provenance of the pieces and identify their possible regions of origin or finding through comparative studies and a survey of the known excavation sites in northern Syria. Finally, a scientific analysis of the chemical composition of the glass will be carried out in order to gain insights into the provenance.

The Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA) has many years of experience in dealing with archaeological finds of problematic origin. The project, funded by the German Foundation for the Loss of Cultural Property and the Society of Friends of LEIZA, will further advance provenance research on the LEIZA’s own holdings.