Holy Land on the Baltic:

The German Protestant theologian, scholar, and missionary Gustaf Dalman (1855-1941) cultivated an intense and life-long interest for the lands of the Bible. During his tenure in Jerusalem (1902-1914) as inaugural director of the Deutsches Evangelisches Institut fur Altertumswissenschaft des Heiligen Landes, he amassed a remarkable collection of images and objects pertaining to the landscape, history, and way of life of the Holy Land. When Dalman subsequently joined the theology faculty of the University of Greifswald, the major portion of the collection came along with him, later serving as the material basis for his magnum opus, the eight-volume Work and Custom in Palestine (1928-1940). This lecture will explore Dalman's years in Jerusalem, his approach to the documentation and collection of Palestinian artificats, and will showcase the collection itself, which contains nearly 15,000 slides and photographs, 2600 plant samples, and a large number of historical maps, archaeological finds, and cultural and ritual objects. The talk will also discuss current efforts further to catalogue and digitalize the collection, making its treasures available to a broader public than ever before.