{"id":7417,"date":"2013-11-05T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-11-05T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edition2.lammerhuber.at\/news-en\/fulminante-doppel-buchpraesentation-im-ephesos-museum.html"},"modified":"2020-09-21T11:42:46","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T09:42:46","slug":"brilliant-double-book-presentation-in-the-ephesos-museum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edition.lammerhuber.at\/en\/news-en\/brilliant-double-book-presentation-in-the-ephesos-museum","title":{"rendered":"Brilliant double book presentation in the Ephesos Museum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On 5 November, two new photographic volumes were presented at the Ephesos Museum in Vienna. In Ephesos \u2013 Der Reiz der Zerst\u00f6rung<\/em> (Ephesos – The Beauty of Destruction) and Die Katzen von Ephesos<\/em> (Cats of Ephesos) director of excavations, Dr. Sabine Ladst\u00e4tter, and eminent photographer and publisher, Lois Lammerhuber, brought a fascinating angle to the many facets of the site that is steeped in tradition. \u201cThe two volumes are strong messengers of the archaeological dig, in short: a dazzling site in glossy representation,\u201d said minister for science and research, Karlheinz T\u00f6chterle, at the event which attracted about 250 guests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cArchaeology fascinates, there is no doubt about it. Just look at the visitor numbers at sites of antiquity. The academic discipline of archaeology, however, is seen as rare and exotic and occasionally gets under massive legitimation pressure. Yet there is no question of its relevance for society or its economic significance. Showing this clearly and unambiguously was a major motivation for me to write this book,\u201d explained Sabine Ladst\u00e4tter, head of excavations in Ephesos since 2010, director of the Austrian Archaeological Institute (\u00d6AI) and \u2018Scientist of the Year 2011\u2019. \u201cToday we archaeologists work in full awareness of the fact that any dig is an act of destruction but maybe the most enticing form it can take,\u201d says Ladst\u00e4tter about the book\u2019s title. With the Cats of Ephesos,<\/em> she added, they decided to go for a \u2018new perspective\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCapturing the same theme in two completely different narratives was a huge challenge. At the core of it is the transition of a classic excavation site into a modern excavation business, a metamorphosis initiated by Sabine Ladst\u00e4tter. That it was possible to integrate the photography for the books \u2013 with major support from dig photographer Niki Gail \u2013 into the everyday work going on at the site, makes it a once-in-a-lifetime book, as our editor J\u00fcrgen Hatzenbichler called it,\u201d reports Lammerhuber, who recently captured the 21st<\/sup> Century Garden<\/em> of ecologist and botanist Georg Grabherr, \u2018Scientist of the year 2012\u2019. Lammerhuber has created more than 70 books with his photographs, most of them award-winners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archaeological research in Austria has been closely linked to the dig in Ephesos since 1895. Ephesos is also an example of successful interaction between culture tourism and regional development. In 2012 alone, around 160 researchers from 18 countries worked there under Austrian direction and nearly two million people visit Ephesos each year. Ephesos is a visitor magnet, drawing many interested people and communicating the fascination of archaeology. A new attraction is the Great Theatre of Ephesos, recently reopened after 17 years of restoration work. \u00d6AI scientists were among the key contributors to restoring it to a state where it can function as a theatre again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the last ten years, Austria has invested around 11.5 million euros in research at Ephesos, about six million of it for the protective cover of Terrace House 2. In addition, the dig receives private funds, e.g. from the Ephesos Foundation, the association Gesellschaft der Freunde von Ephesos,<\/em> as well as from the American Society of Ephesus and the Kaplan Foundation. The Ephesos dig is the largest excavation project of the Austrian Archaeological Institute (\u00d6AI), a subsidiary agency of the ministry of science and research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n