German archeology institute bridges religion, science, culture

At the beginning of the 20th century, when the German Evangelical Institute for the Archeology of the Holy Land was founded, was a time when similar institutes in countries like England, the United States and Italy were under pressure to prove the validity of the Bible with archeological findings.

However, the German institute, known as DEI, has always taken the perspective that faith cannot be proven. It sees itself as a bridge between science and religion, experts and non-experts, and Europe and the Middle East.

"The bridge between theology on the one hand - that is, the texts that tell us something about the past - and archaeology on the other, which tells us something completely different from the time period," said Dieter Vieweger, DEI's director. "What did the houses look like, what did the cities look like, what were all the other things that the texts didn't tell us about, or didn't want to tell us?" 

Archeological findings come alive

Today, DEI considers education one of its major mandates. To help explain history to the average person, DEI regularly constructs 3D models of excavated locations, to show how cities and towns once looked. Vieweger has also written a children's book about the archaeological projects.

But with the German Protestant Church, one of the DEI's financial supporters, in economic trouble, the institute founded a new development association to secure its future.

One of the first projects to be undertaken by the association at Jerusalem's Church of the Redeemer has tourists - not technical journals - in mind. Due to political reasons, the church currently may not be excavated, but findings from previous digs are to be made accessible to visitors.

In spring 2009, students from the Technical University in Potsdam, with the support of the state of Brandenburg developed a means of making the DEI's archeologically internationally significant site from the 1970s more accessible, developing it further and preparing it as a museum, explained Gabriele Foerder-Hoff, one of the initiators of the development association.

While DEI emphasizes education in general, the development association is to focus specifically on training up young experts in the field.

"We are going to special attention to projects that tie in the upcoming generation - for example, though internships, excursions, traineeships and scholarships," said Foerder-Hoff.

Bildunterschrift: DEI's excavation of the Zira'a Valley in the Gadara region of Jordan

Local philosophy pays off

In addition to its headquarters in Berlin, DEI maintains an institute in Jerusalem with seven permanent staff members, and another one in the Jordanian capital of Amman with a five-person staff.

For larger digs, a handful of young archeologists are generally flown in from Germany to help with the work. They are joined by countless local workers.

In addition to funding from the Protestant Church, the DEI is financially supported the German Archeological Institute, which is financed directly by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The political and religious branches of DEI work together not only in economic matters, but also on the ground. Being involved in what three of the world's major religions regard as the "Holy Land," a particularly politically delicate region of the world, effective cultural adaption is essential for the institute.

"We couldn't work in any country - and especially not in such (politically sensitive) countries - if we didn't strictly follow the rules and maintain close personal contact all the way down to the artifact cleaners and excavation workers," said Hans-Joachim Gehrke, president of the German Archeological Institute. 

"You could call that our philosophy: We work with our foreign partners on equal terms," he said, adding that many of the artifacts found on digs are left in the home country.

Understanding on the job

As a result of DEI's philosophy, it enjoys a good reputation in the countries it works in and is respected by the local populations, Gehrke said.

"We're also a bridge between the Arab world and the Israeli world," Vieweger added.

Both Arab and Israeli experts work together peacefully at DEI - and manage to leave any private ideologies they might have at the door. At least here, science takes precedence over politics.

Bildunterschrift: DEI's excavation of the Gadara region in Jordan

Author: Elena Griepentrog (kjb)

Editor: Sean Sinico