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Memory of destroyed Khorsabad, Victor Place, and the story of a shipwreck

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 April 2021

BÜLENT GENÇ
BÜLENT GENÇ*
Affiliation:
Mardin Artuklu Universitybulendgenc@hotmail.com
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Abstract

Victor Place was appointed as a consul to Mosul in 1851, where having arrived in 1852 he started excavations at Khorsabad. Financial problems forced him to stop this activity towards the end of 1853. As the Interior Ministry appointed him to another post in 1854, he wanted to transport the Khorsabad finds before he left Mosul. However, the roads were extremely unsafe because of the Muntafiq Arab tribes’ revolt. The local authorities repeatedly warned Place about this problem, stressing that he should wait until after the revolt was over before leaving. But despite these warnings, Place transported the Khorsabad finds from Mosul to Baghdad by keleks (rafts). The plan was then to transport them to Basra from Baghdad. Place set off on the river with a fleet made up of four keleks and a ship. Smuggled goods loaded on the ship made it heavier and attracted the attention of looters. On 21 May 1855, the fleet was attacked by bandits in the region of Kurna, located between Baghdad and Basra. The ship and two keleks sank at the spot, while the remaining two keleks arrived at Basra with some of the rescued goods. Various attempts to retrieve the sunken finds then followed. This article accordingly considers new data on the Kurna accident, drawing on Ottoman archival sources, particularly reports written at the time that discussed the possible causes of the accident and the negligent actions linked to it. As the destroyed memory of Khorsabad makes clear, archaeology cannot be rushed.

Keywords

Assyrian archaeologyKhorsabadVictor PlaceMusulKurnashipwreckkelekLamassuM. Clément
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 31 , Issue 4 , October 2021 , pp. 759 - 774
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Royal Asiatic Society

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11 Pillet, ‘L'expédition scientifique et artistique de Mésopotamie et de Médie’, p. 329; Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, p. 306.

12 V. Place, Ninive et l'Assyrie: avec des essais de restauration par Félix Thomas, Vol. 1 (Paris, 1867), p. 7.

13 A document (Bâb-ı Âsafî Divan-ı Hümâyûn Düvel-i Ecnebiyye Kalemi: A.{DVN.DVE. 18A/86, 12 Mart 1268/24 March 1852), asked for a yol emri (travel order) for Monsignor Place, who was appointed as consul in Mosul, with two gentlemen and servants accompanying him, so that they could safely go to Mosul over Samsun.

14 Rawlinson accepted Khorsabad as French territory and thought that the French could continue excavations in the northern part of Kuyunjik, which remained unexcavated until then, and the British could continue in the southern part where Sennacherib's palace was uncovered. He was optimistic that the British and the French could carry out excavations together at Kuyunjik. See Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, p. 308.

15 Tranchand's photographs of Khorsabad are among the earliest excavation photos, for which he used the calotype technique developed by William Fox Talbot. Place was the first archaeologist who employed Félix Thomas as an architect and Gabriel Tranchand as a photographer in the excavations at Khorsabad, attesting to his vision. See ibid., pp. 308–309.

16 M. Pillet, ‘Quelques Documents Inédits sur les Fouilles de Victor Place en Assyrie’, Revue Archéologique, Cinquième Série, T. 4 (Juillet-Décembre 1916), p. 231; M. Pillet, ‘Quelques Documents Inédits sur les Fouilles de Victor Place en Assyrie’, Revue Archéologique, Cinquième Série, T. 8 (Juillet-Décembre 1918), pp. 181–182; A. Parrot, Archaeologie mesopotamienne: Les Etapes (Paris, 1946), p. 61; Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, p. 308.

17 Rawlinson, A memoir, pp. 179–180; Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, p. 315.

18 Pillet, ‘Quelques Documents Inédits’ (Juillet-Décembre 1916), p. 236.

19 Place's work became more difficult as the share of Khorsabad excavations from the total budget spared by the French government for excavations including those of Babylon by Fresnel was limited. See Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, pp. 309–310. Therefore, Place could not continue the excavations at Qalat-Shergat and Kuyunjik. Also, Rassam's secret excavations in the northern part of Kuyunjik and other disagreements were other factors that caused him to give up these excavations. See Pillet, ‘Quelques Documents Inédits’ (Juillet-Décembre 1916), pp. 230–241; Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, pp. 317–332; Parrot, Archaeologie mesopotamienne, p. 62.

20 Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, p. 315.

21 Botta unearthed 14 rooms, 28 doorways and 4 bulls (lamassu) at Khorsabad.

22 Place, Ninive et l'Assyrie, Vol. 1; V. Place, Ninive et l'Assyrie: avec des essais de restauration par Félix Thomas, Vol. 3 (Paris, 1867); V. Place, Ninive et l'Assyrie: avec des essais de restauration par Félix Thomas (Paris, 1870); Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, p. 344.

23 Place is said to have taken some precautions to prevent possible repercussions on Christians in Mosul caused by the tensions created by the Crimean War in early 1854. Place had already been ordered to stop the excavations by that time, but his excavation team maintained their close relations with the Jebour tribe, which made up a large part of the excavation team that he employed to excavate at Khorsabad. See Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, pp. 341–342.

24 Pillet, Khorsabad, p. II; Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, p. 321.

25 Place, Ninive et l'Assyrie, Vol. 3, Pl. 42, 44; Place, Ninive et l'Assyrie (1870), pp. 123–132.

26 The distance between Khorsabad and Mosul is about 18–20 km.

27 Place, Ninive et l'Assyrie (1870), pp. 119–120; Parrot, Archaeologie mesopotamienne, p. 75.

28 Place, Ninive et l'Assyrie (1870), pp. 119–132. Place was informed that he was appointed to Galatz in Moldovia as the second-class deputy consul in 1854. But Place stayed in Mosul for the transportation of the finds to Paris.

29 Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, p. 344.

30 Place, Ninive et l'Assyrie, vol. 3 (1867), Pl. 43; Place, Ninive et l'Assyrie (1870), pp. 134–141.

31 Ibid., pp. 141–142.

32 Place, Ninive et l'Assyrie (1870), pp. 142–143; Pillet, ‘Quelques Documents Inédits’ (Juillet-Décembre 1916), pp. 236–237; Parrot, Archaeologie mesopotamienne, p. 76; Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, pp. 345–346; Reade, J. E., ‘Assyrian Antiquities Lost in Translation’, Journal of Cuneiform Studies 70 (2018), pp. 177–184CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

33 Place, Ninive et l'Assyrie (1870), pp. 132–133.

34 Ibid., p. 143; Parrot, Archaeologie mesopotamienne, p. 76; Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, pp. 345–346.

35 Place, Ninive et l'Assyria (1870), p. 143; Pillet, ‘Quelques Documents Inédits’ (Juillet-Décembre 1917), p. 172; Parrot, Archaeologie mesopotamienne, p. 81; Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, p. 346.

36 Ibid.; Reade, ‘Assyrian Antiquities Lost in Translation’, p. 176.

37 Parrot, Archaeologie mesopotamienne, p. 81; Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, p. 346.

38 British residence north of Basra. See Pillet, ‘Quelques Documents Inédits (Juillet-Décembre 1917), p. 172; Parrot, Archaeologie mesopotamienne, p. 81; Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, p. 348; Reade, ‘Assyrian Antiquities Lost in Translation’, p. 177.

39 Pillet, ‘Quelques Documents Inédits’ (Juillet-Décembre 1917), p. 173; Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, p. 348.

40 Botta's foreman Wessman-Naouchi had worked with Place at Khorsabad excavations for three years. See Pillet, ‘Quelques Documents Inédits’ (Juillet-Décembre 1917), pp. 171–196.

41 Mesud Bey, an officer of the Iraq-Arab army, had left the Belgian army; he converted to Islam and lived in Turkey for years according to Arab traditions, although he was well known in Paris. He managed the rescue work due to his technical knowledge. See ibid., p. 175.

42 I would like to thank Assistant Professor Vural Genç for the transcription of these documents.

43 This document was translated by Ottoman scribes; therefore, the name Achille Murat was written as Aşil. See Pillet, ‘Quelques Documents Inédits’, p. 172.

44 Hariciye Nezâreti Mektubî Kalemi: HR.MKT. 116/80, 1 Zilhicce 1271/15 August 1855. Another report dated 27 Şevval 1271/13 July 1855 from the same file addresses this issue.

45 Hariciye Nezâreti Mektubî Kalemi: HR.MKT. 116/80, 1 Zilhicce 1271/15 August 1855.

46 Hariciye Nezâreti Mektubî Kalemi: HR.MKT. 116/80, 1 Zilhicce 1271/15 August 1855. Persons who signed and sealed this document were: second correspondence officer of the Iraq and Hijaz army Mahmud Fehmi, first inspection officer of the Iraq and Hijaz army Mehmed Arif, first information officer of the Iraq and Hijaz army Mehmed Nuri, Baghdad quarantine doctor of French nationality A. Buthieul, Baghdad quarantine authority Anton Paduan, chief manager of the Royal Stables (Istabl-i Amire) Ahmed Raşid, colonel of the Anatolian army Ömer Abdi, Baghdad official Hüseyin, Baghdad Asssembly clerk Seyyid Mehmed Razi, and first clerk of the Iraq and Hijaz army Dervish Abdurrahim.

47 British vice consul in Baghdad Captain Jones is referred to as Kaptan Cosi in Ottoman documents.

48 Hariciye Nezâreti Mektubî Kalemi: HR. MKT. 116/80, 1 Zilhicce 1271/15 August 1855.

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51 Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, p. 348.

52 Place, Ninive et l'Assyrie (1870), p. 143.

53 Ibid., p. 144.

54 Pillet, ‘Quelques Documents Inédits’, p. 177.

55 Ibid., p. 180.

56 Hariciye Nezâreti Mektubî Kalemi: HR. MKT. 115/71, 18 Zilkade 1271/2 August 1855.

57 Ibid.

58 Parrot (Archaeologie mesopotamienne, p. 83) stated that only 26 crates out of 235 arrived at the Louvre Museum on 1 July 1856. According to Pillet, there were 235 cases of artifacts in total: Pillet, ‘Quelques Documents Inédits’ (Juillet-Décembre 1917), p. 194, For a new and logical suggestion on the number and content of the cases that sank in Kurna, see Reade, ‘Assyrian Antiquities Lost in Translation’, pp. 177–184.

59 Larsen, The Conquest of Assyria, pp. 348–349.

60 Pillet, ‘Quelques Documents Inédits’ (Juillet-Décembre 1917), pp. 194–195.

61 The Manuel was supposed to arrive at Le Havre some six months later, on 25 May 1856. Ibid., pp. 191–192.

62 Ibid., p. 174.

63 Parrot, Archaeologie mesopotamienne, p. 82; Pillet, M., Un pionnier de l'assyriologie: Victor Place, consul de France à Mossoul, explorateur du palais de Sargon II (722–705 av. J.-C.) à Khorsabad (1852–1855) (Paris, 1962), p. 83Google Scholar.

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