The spotlight this time falls on the fieldwork carried out by Rocio Da Riva at Brisa (Lebanon) and Sela (Jordan).
Rocio kindly agreed to answer a few questions about her recent discoveries and their importance for the reconstruction of the Neo-Babylonian period. She also shared a few thoughts on the crucial issue of interdisciplinarity in our academic field, based on her own experience.
Please tell us about yourself!
I am a Madrid-born Assyriologist. I did my PhD in Würzburg under the supervision of two magnificent scholars: G. Wilhelm (Würzburg) and M. Jursa (Vienna). I am currently professor at the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Barcelona and I have been awarded the ICREA Academia Research Award on two occasions.
I have been conducting research in first-millennium BCE Babylonia: editing cuneiform texts from museums in Europe, North America and the Middle East; and carrying out archaeological field work in Lebanon and Jordan. In fact, I am currently the scientific director of the archaeological research project at the site of Sela, in Jordan.
I have published several monographs and articles on topics related to Babylonian political and social history, and I have also edited the corpus of the Neo-Babylonian royal inscriptions. I am still involved in the edition of this corpus as member of the OIMEA Advisory Committee (Official Inscriptions of the Middle East in Antiquity). Moreover, I am an Editorial Board member of the Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Babylonian Empire (RINBE).
I have also written about the secret mission of the German ethnologist Leo Frobenius.
At present, I am also working on two incredibly fascinating topics, on Late Babylonian temple ritual texts from Babylon and (with N. Wasserman) on the corpus of the Divine Love Lyrics, you know, those texts about divine love, sex and jealousy partially published by W. G. Lambert some years ago…
Which are the most relevant discoveries that you have made so far in Lebanon and Jordan, and to what extent do they contribute to a comprehensive reconstruction of the Neo-Babylonian period?
I prefer to see my work in Lebanon and Jordan as a whole, as an integrated part of the project of editing the Neo-Babylonian inscriptions. I think the evaluation of these monuments “in the field” is crucial to understanding the dynamics of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Monument production is an archaeological correlate of imperial dominion, and as such it should be studied (in my opinion).
I think “field work” is also important to get a local perspective. Brisa and Sela should not be considered as “peripheral” to the empire, but as central places in their own right. These monuments can tell us a great deal about the cultural appropriation of the landscapes, and about the symbolic meaning and liminal aspects of the sites where the inscriptions were carved…
The work in Brisa was decisive for the full reconstruction of its rock inscription. It was a very long process, taking more than five years, from March 2005 to July 2010, and it was crucial to visit the place at different moments of the year. I learned a lot about photography and about how to use the light to enhance the readability of the inscription… and I practically read and reconstructed the whole text, considerably improving F. H. Weissbach’s old edition, I am terribly proud of my work there!
Entrance gate and tower of Sela: photo by Matthew Dalton (20181014 MND-0542 ©APAAME)
Yours is an interdisciplinary project, that crosses the lines between Assyriology, Archaeology and Digital Humanities. How do you navigate between these different academic perspectives?
I do not think much about how I do things, really, I just do them. I mean that when I find a problem or an issue to deal with, I just adapt the methodology that I think is best to achieve the desired objective, as simple as that. For example: I found it was absolutely necessary to study the monument of Sela from a holistic point of view, in its broad context, and to consider its location, possible function and the impact its production may have had in the area. In this sense, I find the works of Ö. Harmanşah and Y. Hamilakis very inspiring.
In addition, I think Digital Humanities have improved our work enormously, not only in the manner we study cuneiform tablets, but also in the dissemination of the knowledge created by the study of ancient documentation: they are a perfect tool to integrate Assyriology and Archaeology.
How has your work been received in Lebanon and Jordan? Is it cause for curiosity, suspicion, interest, misunderstanding?
Considering that my work has to do with cuneiform inscriptions written in far-off locations amidst the mountains, I would say that in general it has been well received by the authorities and the academics of both Beirut and Amman.
But we have to think that the monuments of Brisa and Sela are very isolated, and that the communities living in those areas are in a way used to living with the reliefs and the inscriptions. The local people often refer to the images in the monuments as the pictures of “very mighty and ancient kings” and they are well aware that there are inscriptions too, but that nobody can read them (!). They always found it amusing that a woman would come from so far away to spend several hours under the sun looking at the monuments, measuring them, taking pictures, reading the inscriptions…
What was, in your opinion, your greatest achievement so far? Which was your “most emotional” moment in the field?
Da Riva in Shir as-Sanam 2008, photo by Sara Tricoli
I am a very fortunate person for I have “emotional moments” quite often. Of course, “discovering” the inscription of Shir as-Sanam back in 2007 was incredible: we found it hiking in the beautiful Qbayyat area in North Lebanon.
Climbing in Sela and facing the relief of Nabonidus at 90 m above the ground was also something I will never forget in my entire life. I remember a sparrow hawk performing overhead stunts above us while we were suspended on the ropes, and at the same time the voice of the muezzin calling for prayer from the village’s mosque filled the entire valley of Sela.
How does one day in the field looks like, when you are in Sela? What is the greatest difficulty that you had to overcome while you were working there?
Every day in the field is different and there is always a surprise. Usually the day begins very early and ends very late, and it is often exhausting and challenging.
Studying the Nabonidus inscription at Sela, October 2018. ©Sela Archaeological Project
Sela is a very demanding place, as you have to be very fit, both physically and mentally, to endure the discomforts, the hard terrain and the difficulties of working in the mountains. But the landscape is so beautiful and so evocative that it compensates the hardships.
Climbing the façade of Sela was arduous, but I was fortunate to have an incredible team of professional climbers helping me in every aspect of the work. I could never have done it without them!
For your projects, you use several new digital technologies (for example, photogrammetric recording and 3D scanning): which steps do you think should be taken in our academic disciplines, to reach a truly interdisciplinary work environment?
I think we should be more modest, and be ready to listen to the others in order to enlarge our focus.
Assyriologists, archaeologists, historians, cultural anthropologists, geographers… we all have many things in common and a lot to learn from one another: we should talk and work together more regularly. Technicians and specialists are there too, helping us with the new technologies. We should join efforts to create networks and design projects that integrate our perspectives in order to produce real interdisciplinary science that serves the society we live in.
In my opinion, this is not just necessary because these are the objectives marked by the current political trends in research (H2020, synergies, large projects and so on) but because we cannot possibly study the past from an isolated and parochial perspective.
What do you think is the secret to a successful academic project?
I think you have to believe in what you do and be true and honest to yourself.
But… isn’t that how one should proceed in every aspect of life?
©Sela Archaeological Project