The project, which will be launched in Spring 2025 and run until the end of 2028, takes two intertwined perspectives on the meaning of “lost cities”: firstly as lost ancient cities rediscovered in the late 19th and 20th centuries and secondly lost knowledge about these cities lost through the way in which they were explored. Through three synergetic work packages, the project will (1) investigate how now lost ancient cities were explored, but not comprehensively documented or published, (2) re-examine archaeological and historical publications from the period and examine unpublished archives to trace the development of urban archaeology; and (3) develop a new framework for understanding and documenting the loss and subsequent ‘re-excavation’ of knowledge about these urban sites – a loss driven by past agendas, methodologies, and practices.

The findings of this collaborative project will be disseminated through peer-reviewed articles and monographs, while a series of international workshops and conferences will foster dialogue and the sharing of knowledge among scholars from various disciplines creating a new international network focused on Lost Cities of Western Asia. Proceedings from these events will be published as edited volumes in the series Archive Archaeology founded by Raja with Brepols.

The project’s PI team is composed of principal investigator (PI) Professor Rubina Raja, professor of Classical Archaeology and Art, Aarhus University; Dr. Olympia Bobou, Aarhus University; and Curator Dr. Miriam Kühn, Museum für Islamische Kunst, Berlin. The project has several partnerships with institutions across Europe, the Middle East and USA, including the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin. Three post docs will be employed in the project and, together with the PIs, will conduct the research, organise the international events and publish the project’s results over the coming years.

For further information contact:
Rubina Raja, rubina.raja@cas.au.dk; +45 27188390.