Jen Baird & Sophie Hay – Archaeology and Photography

Lecture/Conversation

Jen Baird & Sophie Hay – Archaeology and Photography

Detail of Albert Henry Detweiler, Dura Europos, the Roman Bath in E3 (Salhieh, Syria), ca. 1930-39, photographic print, 12 x 8 cm (Detweiler Collection, Photographic Archive, American Academy in Rome)

Photography aided in the formation of archaeology as a scientific discipline. In the final years of the Grand Tour, photography became increasingly available and tourists made and acquired photographs of the sites they visited. A rising interest in analyzing sites, and excavating them to understand them better, prompted new methods of recording such as scale drawing and photography. Film photographs famously have the quality of appearing to be a simple indexical record of what was before the camera, and yet photography can equally be open to experimentation and innovation.

This evening’s conversation brings together two archaeologists who have examined the use of photography in early archaeology to discuss how the technology prompted new ways of thinking about evidence in the study of the human past.

By comparing various contexts where photography played a critical role in excavation, from Dura Europos to Pompeii, scholars Jen Baird and Sophie Hay will interrogate the relationships between the two fields.

Date & time
Wednesday, September 17, 2025
6:00 PM
Location
AAR Lecture Room
McKim, Mead & White Building
Via Angelo Masina, 5
Rome, Italy
Security notice

For access to the Academy, guests will be asked to show a valid photo ID. Backpacks and luggage with dimensions larger than 40 x 35 x 15 cm (16 x 14 x 6 in.) are not permitted on the property. There are no locker facilities available. You may not bring animals (with the exception of seeing-eye/guide dogs).

Accessibility

The Academy is accessible to wheelchair users and others who need to avoid stairs. Please email us at events@aarome.org if you or someone in your party uses a wheelchair or other mobility devices so that we can ensure the best possible visitor experience. If you are someone with a disability or medical condition that may require special accommodation, please also email us at events@aarome.org.