Schmidt, Erich Friedrich, 1897-1964

Excavation at Fara, initiated by German excavators between 1902 and 1903, was resumed in 1931 by Erich Schmidt, an archaeologist working under the aegis of the University Museum. Since the Museum’s participation was limited to one season which took place between February 15 and May 19, the records pertaining to this excavation are not numerous. It is a fortunate circumstance that Schmidt listed (letter of May 25, 1931 to H. Jayne) exactly what types of records were generated. A confusing aspect of this collection is that Fara was excavated with funds appropriated by the Joint Persian Expedition for the proposed excavation in Iran (Tepe Hissar) also headed by Schmidt. Most Fara records are contained here, although some may be with the records for the Citadel at Damghan (Tureng Tepe), and Tepe Hissar. However, the excavation at Fara occurred before those at these other sites, and therefore the records were already, for the most part, separate.

From the guide to the Fara, Iraq expedition records, Bulk, 1930-1931, 1930-1972, (University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives)

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