The Secure Architecture of Immortality

Von Busse’s involvement was directly tied to the pioneering efforts of the expedition's director, Ernst Herzfeld, a renowned German archaeologist and philologist. Herzfeld’s leadership brought a necessary blend of academic rigor and ambitious vision to the site, and the Oriental Institute’s commitment provided the crucial funding and institutional backing. The photographer’s work, therefore, was not merely that of an independent artist, but a key component of a high-profile international collaboration aimed at excavating, mapping, and understanding the vast complexes of Darius the Great, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes that had stood as the heart of the world's first great empire.