Behind the camera, photographic approaches through the archive collection of AlUla Old Town

Authors

  • Helene Canaud Archaios
  • Apolline Vernet Archaios
  • Bénédicte Khan

Keywords:

archive, silver photography, documentation, archaeology, history of Hejaz

Abstract

The aim of this article is to explore photographic practices in the documentation of AlUla Old Town since the beginning of the twentieth century, from the photographic collection in the AlUla Museum. In this way, one can follow the evolution of the heritage site throughout the last century and confront the different photographers’ approaches through their documentary contribution.

The earliest photographs are by Jaussen and Savignac, who explored the Old Town during their archaeological journey from Jerusalem to Medina. Since then, archive collections have increased in the AlUla Museum but remain overlooked.

The early travellers’ photographs from 1904 are contemporary with the explorations of Hejaz, which became more accessible via the railway for the Muslim pilgrimage. Among these pictures are archaeological survey documentation (e.g. Peter Parr in 1968) and photographic reporting for wider exploration of the region (Jamie Simson for the Robert Hurd Overseas society in the 1980s). The Museum collection also consists of several private donations and AlUli family archives (Omar Ali Alwan fond dated 1980), which document the recent history of the Old Town. These photographic testimonies provide a wide range of information, spreading from archaeology to ethnography.

From archaeological documentation to personal photography, the study of these archives highlights the AlUla urban evolutions, questions the photographic intentions underlying their compositions, and draws attention to the documentary function of photography for heritage studies, in their tangible as much as their intangible aspects.

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Published

11/06/2024

How to Cite

Canaud, H., Vernet, A., & Khan, B. (2024). Behind the camera, photographic approaches through the archive collection of AlUla Old Town. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 53, 10–23. Retrieved from https://archaeopresspublishing.com/ojs/index.php/PSAS/article/view/2257

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