Iranica Antiqua, vol. XXXI, 1996 EARLY ARCHAEOLOGICAL ADVENTURES AND METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS IN IRANIAN ARCHAEOLOGY: The Evidence from Susa BY Ali MOUSAVI, Lyon In memory of Walther Hinz The beginning of Near Eastern archaeology stemmed from the early adven- turous explorations carried out by travelers and treasure-hunters. But it should not be forgotten that such non-scientific explorations paved the way for sys- tematic investigations and provided the basis for a gradual development in sci- entific excavation methods and strategy. Iran also benefited from that devel- opment until 1979, when the work of the foreign archaeological missions in Iran was interrupted, marking the end of a long history in the field of Iranian archaeology. The interruption of the archaeological field works in Iran, how- ever, ushered in a new period of reassessment of data and their publication. In addition to the appearance of a number of final reports since 1979 (Tepe Yahya, Haji Firuz, Haft Tepe, Surkh Dum, etc.), the recent exhibi- tion of objects found at Susa in the Metropolitan Museum of Art which was accompanied by a useful catalogue, and the newly published article by Dr. John Curtis on William Kennet Loftus’ excavations are noteworthy. Curtis’ article is particularly important because it provides an informative review of the work done by the Scottish geologist at Susa1. Susa was the first site in Iran that was formally excavated over a long period. The long history of archaeological excavations at Susa by the French is especially important in providing a matrix in which the development of archaeolo- gical methods and techniques can be traced2. 1 The Royal City of Susa. Ancient Near Eastern Treasures in the Louvre, Metropolitan Museum of Art, P.O. Harper, J. Aruz, and F. Tallon (eds), New York, 1992; J. Curtis, “William Kennet Loftus and his Excavations at Susa”, Iranica Antiqua, vol. 28, 1993, pp. 1-55. 2 Aside from de Morgan’s accounts (see infra), for the history of the excavations at Susa, there are several sources: Robert H. Dyson published a fine article, but very brief 2 ALI MOUSAVI Loftus’ work: William Kennet Loftus was the first person who visited and excavated Susa in the middle of the nineteenth century. Here I should add some remarks to Curtis’ article. Loftus was apparently searching, in vain, for a stele, which had been already mentioned by Macdonnald Kinneir and Layard. The stele, called “the Black Stone”, presumably contained some Achaemenid reliefs and inscriptions, as is shown on a rough drawing by Colonel Monteith3. In spite of his efforts, however, Loftus could not see the stele which “was being protected from the foreigners in Daniel’s tomb4” no one knows what happened to it5. The short excavations carried out at Susa by Williams and Loftus did not produce many moveable and valuable objects, but resulted in the first actual plan of the site, the identification of Susa as the biblical Shushan, and Henry Churchill’s drawings represented the first pictures of the intact mounds. The method used by Loftus in his excavations, in Mesopotmia and Iran, was simple. Like his contemporaries, Layard, Botta, and Place, Loftus opened large areas in search for objects. In addition, Loftus, like his many successors, had to limit his aims to fit his budget, while at the same time he was aware of the need to carry the work further in order to see a more and without any references, “Early Works on the Acropolis at Susa: The Beginning of Prehistory in Iraq and Iran”, Expedition, vol. 10, No. 4, 1968, pp. 21-33; several general essays have been published during the past years: R. de Mecquenem, “Les Fouilleurs de Suse”, Iranica Antiqua, vol. XV, 1980, pp. 1-48, with a preface by P. Amiet; P. Amiet, Suse. 6000 ans d’histoire, Paris, 1988, pp. 13-25; J. Perrot, “Un siècle de fouilles à Suse”, Dossiers Histoires et Archéologie, No. 138, 1989, pp. 12-15; N. Chevalier, “The French Scientific Delegation in Persia”, The Royal City of Susa. Ancient Near Eastern Treasures in the Louvre, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1992, pp. 16-19; E. Carter, “A History of Excavation at Susa: Personalities and Archaeological Methodologies”, The Royal City of Susa. Ancient Near Eastern Treasures in the Louvre, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1992, pp. 20-24. 3 For a detailed description see W.K. Loftus, Travels and Researches in Chaldea and Susiana in 1849-52, London, 1857, pp. 418-422; Idem, “On the Excavations Undertaken at the Ruins of Susa in 1851-2”, Transactions of the Royal Society of Litterature, vol. 5, 1857, pp. 446-448. 4 A.H. Layard, Early Adventures in Persia, Susiana and Babylonia, vol. II, London, 1813, pp. 297-298. 5 Curtis did not mention this object in his article but reports on another stele called “sculptured trough at Daniel’s Tomb” which is drawn by H.A. Churchill (see Curtis, op. cit., Plate 12). EARLY ARCHAEOLOGICAL ADVENTURES 3 complete picture of the site6. In the end, Loftus was disappointed because he did not find at Susa the bas-reliefs comparable to those which had been dis- covered first by Botta at Khorsabad, and then by the British at Nimrud. The excavations were given up by the Trustees of the British Museum and Rawlinson who believed the mounds of Susa to be exhausted. Here, John Curtis, as a British, expresses his sorrow: “How wrong they were, as we know from the splendid treasures unearthed by the subsequent French excavators! … Had he stayed at Susa the whole pattern of archaeological research in the Near East may have been different, but such are the accidents of history”7. The Historical Background: After the middle of the nineteenth century, for nearly a quarter of a cen- tury, the archaeological activities in Mesopotamia and Iran slowed almost to a standstill. In 1853, Rassam left Mesopotamia and returned to England, giving up antiquity hunting for a while. Meanwhile, Layard had left the field, and Henry Rawlinson, as a military officer, became involved in the Crimean War, which put a stop to Near Eastern archaeological explo- rations. The excavations at the ruins of the Assyrian cities by Botta, Place, Layard, and Rassam had provided large quantities of objects for European museums. While the arrangement of an Assyrian Room in Crystal Palace in England were being made, Bouvet, the successor of Victor Place at Mosul, demanded credit for another campaign at Khorsabad, which was denied by the French government8. The former instance suggests the innumerable quantities of the objects which arrived in Europe in the middle of the nine- teenth century, while the latter shows the huge investment of a European government in search for antiquities. During the second half of the 19th century the conceptual framework of archaeology was changed, following two major developments of the century: 6 “With the small sum at my disposal for actual excavation, it was utterly impossible to make a thorough examination of the vast area covered by the ruins…If further excava- tions should be made, it will be necessary to carry trenches to a much greater depth than, with my limited funds, I was able to effect”. Cf. Loftus, “On the Excavations Undertaken at the Ruins of Susa in 1851-2”, op. cit., p. 453. 7 J. Curtis, “William Kennet Loftus and his Excavations at Susa”, op. cit., p. 15. 8 S. Lloyd, Foundations in the Dust, Harmondsworth, 1955, p. 175. I would like to cite Victor Place, giving an idea of archaeological excavation in that period: “Aussitôt qu’une excavation ne paraissait pas conduire à des bas-reliefs, elle était abandonnée.” (Ninive et l’Assyrie, X, p. 37). 4 ALI MOUSAVI The deciphering in 1857 of the cuneiform script by Henry Creswick Rawlinson, and the triumph of evolutionary biology through the publica- tion of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species in 1859. Darwin’s evolutionary theory soon became influencial in social sciences, addressing the questions of the origin of man and, by extension, the transformation of society and culture. Also contributing were numerous excavations in the Near East, which fostered more developments. Amongst the most influential were the discovery of Heinrich Schliemann of Troy and other Mycennean sites, and the discovery of the Sumerian civilization by Ernest de Sarzec at Telloh, which began in 1877. Major’s first accomplishments in field archaeology included the development of the method of controlled stratig- raphy set forth in 1857 by the Germans at Olympia and then at Babylon (from 1899 onwards). Photography was also used to illustrate archaeolog- ical reports for the first time by the Austrians during their excavations at Samothrace. Toward the end of the century, the application by Sir Flinders Petrie of Sequence Dating in his work in Egypt influenced Near Eastern archaeology greatly in the methodology of comparative typology. The First French Excavation at Susa: The works done at Susa by Marcel August Dieulafoy (1844-1920), an engineer, and his wife, Jeanne (1851-1916) were the subject of two adven- ture books by Mme Dieulafoy, written in the Victorian romantic style of the end of the past century9. But very little has been written about Marcel Dieulafoy’s excavation method, to which I will now turn. Dieulafoy found Susa as a site with four distinct mounds; the Apadana (the northern mound), the Acropole or citadel (the highest mound), the Ville Royale, where he supposed to be the ruins of the Achaemenid town, and the Ville des Artisans (the eastern part of the site). Dieulafoy’s work was carried out in four directions: A large trial trench (Trench C) was opened along the “façade” of the Achaemenid palace, probably in the north.