{"id":2245,"date":"2023-06-15T19:11:48","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T17:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/people-at-the-dai-athens\/?p=2245"},"modified":"2023-07-03T14:43:56","modified_gmt":"2023-07-03T12:43:56","slug":"otto-rubensohn-and-the-excavations-of-the-dai-in-paros-1898-1899","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/people-at-the-dai-athens\/2023\/06\/15\/otto-rubensohn-and-the-excavations-of-the-dai-in-paros-1898-1899\/","title":{"rendered":"Otto Rubensohn and the excavations of the DAI in Paros (1898\u20131899)"},"content":{"rendered":"

On June 17, 1898, 125 years ago, a young Jewish German archaeologist arrived at Parikia, the capital of the island of Paros, after an exhausting 13-hour voyage from Piraeus. His name was Otto Rubensohn (1867\u20131964, fig. 1<\/em>) and his mission was to conduct small-scale excavations on behalf of the DAI Athens. One of his primary goals was to search for fragments of the famed Marmor Parium, an inscribed marble stele chronicling important episodes in the history of the Greek city-states up to 264\/263 B.C.E. He would attempt to locate the sanctuaries of Asklepios and Demeter, which were known from inscriptions and references to them in ancient written sources (Barlou 2015, 29 f.).<\/p>\n

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Fig. 1: Otto Rubensohn on the roof terrace of the DAI Athens (1898). Jewish Museum Berlin, Otto Rubensohn collection, 2006\/217\/7, photographer unknown.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rubensohn later published extensively on his Paros exploration, but until recently little was known about its background (Barlou 2015, 27. 30). Letters and field journals from Rubensohn\u2019s estate, which was donated to the Jewish Museum Berlin by his son-in-law, Dr. Fortunatus Schnyder-Rubensohn (1915\u20132016), in 2006, now add important information about his scholarly activity and give a vivid account of Parian society and everyday life at the DAI Athens at the end of the 19th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

As Rubensohn\u2019s correspondence shows, the man behind his mission was none other than Wilhelm D\u00f6rpfeld (1853\u20131940), the director of the DAI Athens and also Rubensohn\u2019s mentor. 45 years old at the time, D\u00f6rpfeld took a particular interest in the enterprise and personally accompanied his younger colleague to Paros (fig. 2<\/em>). In a letter to his parents, Rubensohn vividly describes their passage on the steamboat \u201cAthena\u201d: \u201c[\u2026] We went on board around 8:30 and found the miserable little rattletrap Athena jam-packed with people. Our loyal factotum <\/span>Angelis<\/a> brought the endless baggage on board; D\u00f6rpfeld, who brought his own bed, had it set up on deck in the middle of an unspeakable mess \u2013 sheep droppings, whining children, dirty Greeks. The ship left Piraeus around 11 o\u2019clock (it was supposed to depart at 8 o\u2019clock). At 12 I climbed down below to my fleas and slept moderately well. Certainly better than D\u00f6rpfeld, who was already awake again at 3. By 5 o\u2019clock, I was above deck, too, watched the very necessary cleaning of the rattletrap together with D\u00f6rpfeld, and found a place of refuge on the bridge. We reached Syra at 8 o\u2019clock, disembarked, and ate breakfast. We continued on at 9:30. We reached Paros at 12 o\u2019clock. Mr. Crispi came on board to pick us up, a small, fidgety man who speaks an extremely strange German \u2013 he learned it from books from the last century […]\u201d (Jewish Museum Berlin, Otto Rubensohn collection, 2006\/27\/144, letter <\/span>no.\u00a081, 17.06.1898).<\/span><\/p>\n

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Fig. 2: View of the harbor of Parikia from northeast, probably from Cap Krio (1898\/1899). D-DAI-ATH-Paros-0015, photographer O. Rubensohn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After taking up quarters in Parikia and paying the customary visit to the island\u2019s mayor, Rubensohn and D\u00f6rpfeld went on to inspect the property of G. Varouchas in the \u201cTholos\u201d precinct (fig. 3<\/em>, below \u0398\u03bf\u03bb\u03ac\u03ba\u03b9\u03b1), where a major fragment of the Marmor Parium had been found a year before (1897): \u201cOh boy. Big disappointment. A giant field, no one knows exactly where the stone was found. Just late medieval ruins, so the piece found had undoubtedly been built into a late building, who knows where the rest were dragged off to. D\u00f6rpfeld is also quite despondent\u201d (Jewish Museum Berlin, Otto Rubensohn collection, 2006\/27\/144, letter no. 81 as above). Nevertheless, they decided to dig a trial trench the next day. In spite of their efforts, their quest was in vain.<\/p>\n

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Fig. 3: Map of Parikia, Paros. Rubensohn 1901, pl. X, by Panagiotis Sursos.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the following days, Rubensohn and D\u00f6rpfeld set off together to explore the island\u2019s antiquities. They found the city walls, visited the alleged site of the sanctuary of Asklepios, and the famous marble quarries in the mountainous center of the island. They even began to document the Venetian tower in the heart of Parikia, which was built almost entirely from ancient spolia (fig. 4<\/em>). On June 23, D\u00f6rpfeld had to leave for Santorini, where he continued his work with Wolters and Schiff (Jewish Museum Berlin, Otto Rubensohn collection, 2006\/27\/144, letter no. 82, 20.\u201323.06.1898, p. 6). Now Rubensohn was finally the \u201csole ruler of the marble island\u201d, as he triumphantly wrote to his parents (e.g. Jewish Museum Berlin, Otto Rubensohn collection, 2006\/27\/144, letter no. 80, 13.06.1898; Barlou 2015, 30).<\/p>\n

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Fig. 4: East side of the Venetian castle of Parikia with the chapel of Agia Anna (1898). D-DAI-ATH-Paros-0006, photographer O. Rubensohn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At last free to pursue his own plans, in the following weeks Rubensohn combed the whole island. He delved into its ancient and modern topography, recorded toponyms, collected scattered antiquities and dozens of inscriptions, which he copied in squeezes like the keen philologist that he was. He also extensively photographed the landscape and his finds: more than 270 of his early photographs (glass negatives) are preserved in the photographic archive of the DAI Athens (fig. 5<\/em>) accessible via iDAI.objects<\/a>. During this first campaign, Rubensohn excavated some of the most significant monuments of the ancient capital of Paros (fig. 6<\/em>): the late classical sanctuary of Asklepios with remains of the older Pythion (fig. 3 and 6, no. 13; fig. 7), the archaic temple of Athena at the castle (\u201cphrurion\u201d) of Parikia (fig. 3 and 6, no. 10; fig. 8), parts of the Hellenistic and Roman necropolis at the harbor (fig. 6, no. 6; fig. 9), and several smaller sanctuaries (fig. 6, no. 17. 18; Barlou 2015, 31\u201333).<\/p>\n

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Fig. 5: Bay of Parikia, view from the Delion hill (1898\/1899). D-DAI-ATH-Paros-0065, photographer O. Rubensohn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Fig. 6: Map of the greater Parikia region. Rubensohn 1901, pl. IX, by Panagiotis Sursos.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Fig. 7: View to the north over the Asklepios sanctuary with the windmills of Agia Anna and Parikia in the background (1898). D-DAI-ATH-Paros-0008, photographer O. Rubensohn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Fig. 8: Excavations at the castle of Parikia, next to the Church of Agios Konstantinos (right), which was built on the foundation of the temple of Athena. In the foreground, the remains of the prehistoric settlement; left of center, Rubensohn sits taking notes or sketching (1898\/1899). D-DAI-ATH-Paros-0030, photographer unknown.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The role of his Greek team members is less acknowledged. Finally, as is evident from his correspondence and field diaries, he also established the first museum on Paros. Thanks to his persistence, the growing archaeological collection was housed in former monks’ cells in the courtyard of the Church of Panagia Hekatontapyliani, called Katapoliani, one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the Cyclades (fig. 9, Barlou 2015, 35f.).\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Fig. 9: Funerary monuments from the Hellenistic-Roman necropolis of Parikia. The Church of Panagia Katapoliani in the background (1898\/1899). D-DAI-ATH-Paros-0035, photographer O. Rubensohn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Fig. 10: Otto Rubensohn, Paul Baur, and Friedrich Hiller von Gaertringen pose in front of the Venetian castle of Parikia, using the column drums as halos (June 6, 1899). Jewish Museum Berlin, Otto Rubensohn collection, 2006\/217\/35, photographer unknown.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In his endeavors, Rubensohn could count on several well-known friends and fellow archaeologists, including Friedrich Hiller von Gaertingen,<\/a> Paul Baur<\/a> (fig. 10) and Robert Zahn<\/a> (fig. 11). The young Greek architect Panagiotis Sursos (1865\u20131929), a close collaborator of D\u00f6rpfeld\u2019s and architect at the DAI, played an especially decisive part in the scientific outcome of the mission. Sursos drew all the architectural plans, supervised excavations and created the detailed topographic maps that Rubensohn later published (fig. 3 and 6). Frequent mention is also made of the DAI \u201cfactotum\u201d Angelis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Fig. 11: Otto Rubensohn and Robert Zahn dining together, probably at their dwelling in Parikia (1898\/1899). Jewish Museum Berlin, Otto Rubensohn collection, 2006\/217\/36, photographer unknown.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On D\u00f6rpfeld\u2019s orders (e.g. Jewish Museum Berlin, Otto Rubensohn collection, 2006\/27\/144, letter no. 80, 13.6.1898), Angelis stayed with the young Rubensohn, who initially spoke Greek rather poorly, and assisted him in all his everyday affairs, from managing finances to supervising excavations. The following entry from Rubensohn\u2019s field journal (Jewish Museum Berlin, Otto Rubensohn collection, 2006\/27\/32 \u201cParos 1899 II\u201d p. 28, fig. 12) gives a direct insight into an ordinary day at the excavations:<\/p>\n

\u201c[…] In the evening, Panagiotis comes and complains about the laziness of the workers. Terrible anger over the workers. Nice evening with a full moon. […]\n

Friday, May 26, 1899<\/p>\n

At 5 a.m. off to the excavations of von Hiller, where I stay while Angelis goes out to bring my workers to their senses. Home at 8 o\u2019clock for breakfast, 2nd breakfast then out to the excavations. A geometric shard was found in Hiller\u2019s excavations. The northern section of the old walls was finally completely uncovered outside in the sanctuary of Asklepios; it\u2019s preserved in situ, 8.70m long \u2013 2 layers [illegible<\/em>] \u2013 the rest can be followed along the carved rockface. To the museum at 3 o\u2019clock in the afternoon. Baur keeps digging in the Eileithyia and [illegible<\/em>]. I start with a precise find journal of the sanctuary of Eileithyia. The terracottas get more and more interesting. Inscription no. 40 (underlined twice, red.<\/em>) handed over to Hiller for the museum. Afterward, one more time to the sanctuary of Asklepios, where a lead nail with the inscription \u03a0\u03a5\u03a1 is found. Then home. The most disagreeable south wind all day long. Humid weather. Mail via Naussa just brings newspapers etc.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Fig. 12: Rubensohn\u2019s field journal Paros 1899 II, pp. 27 f. Jewish Museum Berlin, Otto Rubensohn collection, 2006\/27\/32.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rubensohn\u2019s successful campaign convinced the DAI to sponsor one more excavation season on Paros in the summer of 1899. During that time, Rubensohn continued his investigations in the Asklepios sanctuary and uncovered a remarkable prehistoric settlement (2nd<\/sup> millennium B.C.E.) under the temple of Athena in the castle area (fig. 8). His most significant discovery, though, was the Delion, a previously unknown sanctuary, situated on top of a hill in the northeastern part of the bay of Parikia (fig. 6 no. 14, fig. 13 and 14). In just six days(!), assisted by twenty-one local workmen, Rubensohn excavated the ruins of an early classical Doric temple, discovering an altar and numerous artefacts dedicated to the goddess Artemis of Delos dating back to the 8th<\/sup> century B.C.E.<\/p>\n

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Fig. 13: View westward from the Delion sanctuary (1899). D-DAI-ATH-Paros-0063, photographer O. Rubensohn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Fig. 14: NE corner of the foundation of the temple of Artemis, below part of the peribolos wall of the Delion sanctuary (1899). D-DAI-ATH-Paros-0057, photographer O. Rubensohn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite these spectacular results, which received great attention, a permanent position for which Rubensohn had hoped failed to materialize. It was suspected again and again that it had to do with his Jewish identity (cf. Kuckertz 2013, 53; Pomerance 2015, 18). In short order, Rubensohn opted for the security of a teaching career and was about to forsake his archaeological career when, in 1901, he was offered a chance to work in Egypt for several years, excavating and purchasing Greek literary papyri on behalf of the Berlin museums and the papyrus cartel (Kuckertz 2015; Kuckertz 2020, 44\u201350; Lembke \u2013 Pomerance 2016, 41).<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Rubensohn completed three extensive articles on Paros, which were published in Athenische Mitteilungen 1900\u20131902 (Rubensohn 1900, 1901, and 1902). These publications remain milestones for scholarship on the island. His final publication, on the Delion (Rubensohn 1962), however, did not appear until half a century later. This was partly due to Rubensohn\u2019s erratic career: after his detour in Egypt, he returned to teaching in 1907, became a museum director in Hildesheim from 1909 to 1915, and then went back again to teaching in Berlin. To a significant extent, however, the gaps in his scholarly production were caused by the historic events leading up to World War II and beyond. Rubensohn\u2019s own vita reflects the fate of hundreds of thousands of his fellow German Jews \u2013 at least those who survived the murderous Nazi regime \u2013 who were systematically marginalized and persecuted in the 1930s, and had to rebuild their lives from scratch as exiles and refugees.<\/p>\n

In spring 1939, then 72 years old, Rubensohn emigrated at the very last moment to Basel, Switzerland, along with his wife, at the insistence of his daughter and with the help of several friends and colleagues (Pomerance 2015, 20\u201324). Since they had to leave behind most of their possessions, the family lived on Jewish solidarity funds and especially on the financial support of Mimi Borchardt \u2013 wife of the first director of the DAI Kairo, Ludwig Borchardt, both close friends of Rubensohn\u2019s \u2013 during the war. Despite his advanced age and harsh experiences, however, Rubensohn remained active in research. In 1949, his article on Paros belatedly appeared in the famous Paulys<\/em> Realencyclop\u00e4die<\/em>, having been rejected on racial grounds in 1936. In 1962, as a nonagenarian, Rubensohn at last saw the publication of his study on the Delion of Paros. Of all his travels and discoveries, his time in Paros remained his fondest memory (cf. Pomerance 2015, 20 n. 25). With the transfer of his estate to the Jewish Museum Berlin and the digitalization of the archives of the DAI Athens, his research can now be fully appreciated and continued.<\/p>\n

Acknowledgements:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I especially wish to thank Katja Sporn and Katharina Brandt for inviting me to contribute to this highly informative and entertaining scholarly blog. Aubrey Pomerance and Birgit Maurer-Porat (Jewish Museum Berlin) generously provided access to archival material and photos. Otto Rubensohn\u2019s grandson, Thomas Schnyder-Rubensohn (Zurich), was quick to help with permissions and information. To all of them un grand merci.<\/p>\n

\n

Works cited and further reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Barlou 2015
V. Barlou, “…am Ort meiner Bestimmung” \u2013 Otto Rubensohns Forschungen auf Paros, in: A. Pomerance \u2013 B. Schmitz (eds.), Heiligt\u00fcmer, Papyri und gefl\u00fcgelte G\u00f6ttinnen. Der Arch\u00e4ologe Otto Rubensohn<\/a> (Hildesheim 2015) 24\u201337<\/p>\n

Barlou 2022
V. Barlou, The German Archaeological Institute and the first extensive excavations in Paros, in: N. Biza (ed.), Photographic material from the archive of the German Archaeological Institute of Athens<\/a>. Exhibition catalogue, 5th Paros Festival 8\u201310 July 2022 (Paros 2022) s. p.<\/p>\n

Kuckertz 2013
J. Kuckertz, Otto Rubensohn (1867\u20131964), in: M. Capasso (ed.), Hermae. Scholars and Scholarship in Papyrology III<\/a> (Pisa 2013) 41\u201356<\/p>\n

Kuckertz 2015
J. Kuckertz, Auf der Jagd nach Papyri. Otto Rubensohn in \u00c4gypten, in: A. Pomerance \u2013 B. Schmitz (eds.), Heiligt\u00fcmer, Papyri und gefl\u00fcgelte G\u00f6ttinnen. Der Arch\u00e4ologe Otto Rubensohn<\/a> (Hildesheim 2015) 40\u201359<\/p>\n

Kuckertz 2020
J. Kuckertz, Otto Rubensohn (1867\u20131964). Der Auftrag: Griechisch-literarische Papyri aus \u00c4gypten, in: J. H. Schoeps \u2013 T. L. Gertzen (eds.), Grenzg\u00e4nger. J\u00fcdische Wissenschaftler, Tr\u00e4umer und Abenteurer zwischen Orient und Okzident<\/a> (Berlin 2020) 35\u201371<\/p>\n

Lembke \u2013 Pomerance 2016
K. Lembke \u2013 A. Pomerance, Otto Rubensohn (1867\u20131964)<\/a>, in: G. Brands \u2013 M. Maischberger (eds.), Lebensbilder. Klassische Arch\u00e4ologen und der Nationalsozialismus (Rahden\/Westfahlen 2016) 39\u201354<\/p>\n

Pomerance 2015
A. Pomerance, Otto Rubensohn. Eine biografische Skizze, in: A. Pomerance \u2013 B. Schmitz (eds.), Heiligt\u00fcmer, Papyri und gefl\u00fcgelte G\u00f6ttinnen. Der Arch\u00e4ologe Otto Rubensohn<\/a> (Hildesheim 2015) 12\u201325<\/p>\n

Rubensohn 1900
O. Rubensohn, Paros I<\/a>, AM 25, 1900, 341\u2013372<\/p>\n

Rubensohn 1901
O. Rubensohn, Paros II<\/a>, AM 26, 1901, 157\u2013222<\/p>\n

Rubensohn 1902
O. Rubensohn, Paros III. Pythion und Asklepieion<\/a>, AM 27, 1902, 189\u2013238<\/p>\n

Rubensohn 1962
O. Rubensohn, Das Delion von Paros<\/a> (Wiesbaden 1962)<\/p>\n

Schefold 1988
K. Schefold, Otto Rubensohn, in: R. Lullies \u2013 W. Schiering (eds.), Arch\u00e4ologenbildnisse. Portr\u00e4ts und Kurzbiographien von Klassischen Arch\u00e4ologen deutscher Sprache<\/a> (Mainz 1988) 166 f.<\/p>\n

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On June 17, 1898, 125 years ago, a young Jewish German archaeologist arrived at Parikia, the capital of the island of Paros, after an exhausting 13-hour voyage from Piraeus. His name was Otto Rubensohn (1867\u20131964, fig. 1) and his mission … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"featured_media":2280,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[285,280,281,32,42,53,36,284,34,283,55,278,277,282,33,276,113,275],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-baur-paul-victor-christopher","category-borchardt-ludwig","category-borchardt-mimi","category-dai-staff","category-dorpfeld-wilhelm","category-hiller-von-gaertringen-friedrich","category-kosmopoulos-angelis","category-maurer-porat-birgit","category-people","category-pomerance-aubrey","category-rubensohn-otto","category-schiff-alfred","category-schnyder-rubensohn-fortunatus","category-schnyder-rubensohn-thomas","category-scientific-staff","category-soursos-panagiotis","category-wolters-paul","category-zahn-robert"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/people-at-the-dai-athens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2245"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/people-at-the-dai-athens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/people-at-the-dai-athens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/people-at-the-dai-athens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/154"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/people-at-the-dai-athens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2245"}],"version-history":[{"count":42,"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/people-at-the-dai-athens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2347,"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/people-at-the-dai-athens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2245\/revisions\/2347"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/people-at-the-dai-athens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/people-at-the-dai-athens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/people-at-the-dai-athens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dainst.blog\/people-at-the-dai-athens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}