Archive of Teleilat Ghassul

Undoubtedly the most important part of the legacy is the archive of the archaeological expedition to Teleilat Ghassul. The archive witnesses to the increasingly detailed and meticulous record-keeping of the Jesuit Fathers of the Institute. The major part of this archive is held by our Institute in Jerusalem; another part is housed in the archives of the Institute in Rome.

The excavation archive in Jerusalem can be divided into a number of sections: photographs; registration; plans and sections; watercolours.

Photographs

Considering the expense that photography meant in the 1930s (and to a lesser extent in 1959–60), the excavation produced a very significant photographic record, covering all seasons and running into several hundred photographs.

The Jesuits produced a photographic album for the various seasons of excavation and the various finds, with detailed captions (and negative numbers, for cross-referencing!), providing a fascinating visual record of the dig.

We are also privileged to still house the original glass-plate negatives from the excavation, and a meticulous Catalogue de négatifs. The negatives of our collection have already been digitised over the last ten years by Fr Jean-Michel de Tarragon OP, of the École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem, who has had the foresight to collect and digitise various historic photographic collections in Jerusalem.

Registration

The excavators also left detailed records of the finds, particularly from the 1932 season onward. Most significant is the complete card catalogue for the 4th and 5th campaigns (1932–33, 1933–34).

Finds registers were used for 1936 (1 volume), 1938 (5 volumes) and 1959–60 (2 volumes). A newly designed type of record card — including drawings — was adopted from 1936 on. Some of these record cards have drawings in full colour.

Plans and sections

The archive also holds a substantial number of plans and section drawings drawn during the excavation, including several of the original plans drawn on site. These provide an interesting trail of records, from the initial record often right through to publication in the preliminary and final excavation reports.

The archive holds some drawings and plates prepared for publication. We also have a substantial fond of material that served as the basis for the PhD thesis produced by Fr John R. Lee CSB in 1973.

Watercolours

Most fascinating are the watercolours which copied the frescoes found at Ghassul, and provide perhaps the closest record of the finds as experienced by the excavators (see the wall paintings).