A project examining the rich archaeological remains of one of Rome's eastermost garrisons in the city of Dura on the Euphrates.

Simon James is engaged in long-term research on the archaeology of Dura-Europos, Syria, with particular reference to the Roman garrison resident in the city in the 3rd century AD. His work  involve a combination of research into the records and object collections from the extensive campaigns of excavations conducted by the French and Americans during the 1920s and 1930s, now mostly housed in Yale University Art Gallery, and also new fieldwork on the site itself, under the generous auspices of the current Franco-Syrian expedition.

Dura is an abandoned Hellenistic, Parthian and Roman city on the banks of the Euphrates in Eastern Syria which, in its latter years, displayed great cultural complexity. Long retaining Greek institutions, its population was largely Aramaic-speaking Syrians, but included many special groups—Palmyrenes, Hatrenes, Jews and a Christian community—during its century under Roman rule.

Its well-preserved archaeological remains, largely sealed after the city was destroyed by the Sasanian Persians c.AD256 never to be reoccupied, have provided remarkable insights into life in the region during the classical period. Read more about the history and archaeology of Dura here.

Simon James’s current work builds on past research into the arms, armour and equipment—the martial material culture—of the site, primarily Roman, but also including important Partho-Sasanian elements—previously published. There are two strands to this: study of the life of the Roman garrison involving both archival research and new fieldwork; plus continuation of work on the arms, armour and the final siege of the city, primarily based on reappraisal of museum collections and the excavation archive. Recent work on the last has uncovered evidence suggesting use of 'chemical warfare' during the final siege.