The project is led by Elisa Roßberger, together with Dahlia Shehata (Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg), Johannes Bach (JMU Würzburg), Benedetta Bellucci (JMU Würzburg), and Geraldina Rozzi (University of Leipzig), and is funded by the DFG for three years.

The scientific network aims to strengthen research into hybrid beings in ancient Mesopotamia and neighboring regions in the long term and to deepen it through interdisciplinary exchange. Hybrid beings, i.e., mixed creatures with human and animal characteristics, are central components of ancient West Asian imaginations; evidence can be found in both textual sources and pictorial representations.

Integrative research approaches

Despite numerous individual research projects, especially in the field of demonology, there has been a lack of systematically coordinated, integrative research approaches to date. The network addresses this desideratum by reviving relevant topics within Assyriological and Near Eastern archaeological research, with a focus on the definition, classification, origin, transformation, and perception of hybrid beings. This approach is supplemented by content-related and methodological impulses from other areas of ancient studies as well as from anthropology, religious studies, sociology, psychology, and art history.

The focus is on three thematically structured international workshops (Berlin 2026, Würzburg 2026, Berlin 2027), which treat archaeological and philological sources equally. The three main thematic areas—(1) definition and classification, (2) identification, transfer, and transformation, and (3) origins and perception—will be discussed both disciplinarily and interdisciplinarily. Particular attention will be paid to the development of new questions and approaches for future individual and collaborative projects.

Goals

The network brings together twelve permanent members from archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, as well as international guests from related disciplines. The results of the joint work will be documented in an academic anthology, a theory-based joint article, and a digital internal wiki platform. The latter serves both to systematically record existing research and to test new classifications and analysis tools.

The innovative potential of the network lies in the targeted combination of textual, visual, and material sources with cultural studies theories. Hybrid beings are understood not as a marginal phenomenon, but as central forms of expression of religious and social order. Through the planned interdisciplinary exchange, the network contributes to the visibility of a previously fragmented field of research and creates a solid foundation for its future development.