Empires of Antiquities : Modernity and the Rediscovery of the Ancient Near East, 1914-1950

"Empires of Antiquities is a history of the rediscovery of the imperial civilizations of the ancient Near East in a modern imperial order that evolved between the outbreak of the First World War and the decolonization of the British Empire in the 1950s. It explores the ways in which near eastern antiquity was redefined and experienced, becoming the subject of imperial regulation, modes of enquiry, and international and national politics. A series of globally publicized spectacular archaeological discoveries in Iraq, Egypt, and Palestine, which the book follows, made antiquity material visible and accessible as never before. The book demonstrates that the new definition and uses of antiquity and their relations to modernity were inseparable from the emergence of the post-war international imperial order, transnational collaboration and crises, the aspirations of national groups, and collisions between them and the British mandatories. It uniquely combines a history of the internationalization of archaeology and the rise of a new "regime of antiquities" under the oversight of the League of Nations and its institutions, a history of British attitudes to, and passion for, near eastern antiquity and on-the-ground colonial policies and mechanisms, as well as nationalist claims on the past. It points to the centrality of the new mandate system, particularly mandates classified A in Mesopotamia/Iraq, Palestine, and Transjordan, formerly governed by the Ottoman Empire, and of Egypt, in the new archaeological regime. Drawing on an unusually wide range of materials collected in archives in six countries, as well as on material and visual evidence, the book weaves together imperial, international, and national histories, and the history of archaeological discovery which it connects to imperial modernity." -- Oxford Scholarship Online Cover Empires of Antiquities: Modernity and the Rediscovery of the Ancient Near East, 1914–1950 Copyright Dedication Acknowledgements Contents List of Figures Note on Transliteration Introduction Tell Brak, 1937–1938 Taking Stock of the Historiographies: A Note The New Order of Antiquities: An Entangled History and Its Agents The Complex of Antiquity: Some Features Materials, Exclusions, and Structure I: Antiquity and the New Post-War Imperial Order Chapter 1: Mandated Pasts: War, Peace, and the New Regime of Antiquities Loot: The First World War and the Spoils of Antiquity A Post-War Order: General Characteristics The War on the Past: Re-Defining Heritage in the Greater Great War Legislating and Defining Antiquity A Regime of Excavations: Visions of Intellectual Cooperation ̨and ̨Internationalist Rhetoric II: Biblical Pasts in Mandated Palestine Chapter 2: Illustrating the Bible: Travel, Archaeology, and Modernity in Mandated Biblical Lands Biblical Lands: A Map and Networks Biblical Idioms Biblical Travel and Its Modernization Biblical Materiality: Archaeology, Display, and Scriptural Antiquity Chapter 3: Cities of David: Planning and Excavating Jerusalem Earthquake Antiquities: Preservation, Discovery, and Renewal Mount Ophel: From Underground Jerusalem to the City of David—a Genealogy of Excavations Internationalizing Jerusalem: Publicity, the Media, and the City of David Caulifowers Sprout on the City of David: The Value of Antiquity Chapter 4: Lachish: Excavation, Land, and Violence—Tell ed-Duweir, c.1932–1945 A Funeral in Jerusalem Lachish: Identi ̃cations, Texts, and Sherds Archaeology and Physical Anthropology: Collaborations and Interpretations Colonial Collaborations III: "The Most Ancient Past": Mesopotamian Antiquities and Modernity Chapter 5: Ur: Modernity and the Matter of Antiquity between Two World Wars “Entomb’d Chaldean Kish and Ur” Ur: A Map Cities of Abraham: Rewriting Biblical Histories of Ur Queen Puabi’s Headdress: Splendour, Death, and Modernity Publicizing Ur: Display, Capital, and the Consumption of Antiquity Chapter 6: Murder in Mesopotamia: Antiquity, Genres of Modernity, and Gender in the Popular Crime Novel Detection and Excavation: Crime Literature and the Discovery of the Past Crime, Travel, and Modernity: A Map of a Connective Empire The Tell: Archaeology, Prehistory, and Modernity in Agatha Christie’s Writing Archaeology and Disrupted Domesticity: Murder in Mesopotamia Chapter 7: Prehistories for Modernity: Stone Age Humans and Others in Palestine and Mesopotamia The Most Ancient East Modernity and the Stone Age on Mount Carmel: Development and Archaeology Stone Age Men and Tools “To a Neanderthal Woman”: Feelings, Gender, and the Stone Age The Attractions of Mesopotamian Prehistory: Pottery, Modernity, and Politics Arpachiyah IV: Egypt's Ancient Pasts: Empire, Antiquity, and Technology Chapter 8: Egyptian Antiquity, Imperial Politics, and Modernity: Tutankhamun and After 1922 and Beyond: A Note “All Roads Lead to Egypt”: Connectivity, Speed, and Antiquity between the Two World Wars The Politics of Discovery: The Changing Regime of Archaeology and Interwar Politics The Ancient as Modern: Tutankhamun, Modern Life, and Egyptian Presences in Popular Culture Chapter 9: “Nefertiti Lived Here”: Amarna, Imperial Crises, and Domestic Modernity, 1920–1939 Amarna: A Map Royal Amarna and Crises of Empire Urban Lives Past and Present Commerce and Display Nefertiti Lived Here: Feelings and the Matter of Antiquity Chapter 10: The Road to Alexandria, the Paths to Siwa: Hellenism, the Modern World, and the End of Empires, 1915–1956 Competing Hellenisms Taking the Graeco-Roman Turn: Some Continuities Hellenized Cities on the Margins of Empires Alexandria: Hellenistic Cosmopolitanism Present and Past All Roads Lead to Siwa Siwa Past and Present: Antiquity, Customs, and Manners Conclusion: Gerald Lankester Harding’s Second Funeral The Complex of Antiquities and Empire: Continuities, Changes, and Commonalities Knowing about Antiquity: Forms and Practices The Most Ancient Past: Texts, Narratives, and Temporalities Empires of Antiquities: The Past as a Future Bibliography 1. Archival Sources 2. International Conventions and Treaties 3. Newspapers and Periodicals 4. League of Nations’ Publications 5. Archaeological Reports, Books, and Histories 6. Popular History, Archaeology, and Commentary 7. Surveys, Travel Books, Urban Plans, Ethnographies, and Tourist Guides 8. Autobiographies, Memoirs, and Correspondence 9. Fiction, Poetry, and Essays 10. Archaeological Films 11. Select Secondary Bibliography 12. Dissertations 13. Websites Index "'Empires of Antiquities' is a history of the rediscovery of the imperial civilizations of the ancient Near East in a modern imperial order that evolved between the outbreak of the First World War and the decolonization of the British Empire in the 1950s. It explores the ways in which near eastern antiquity was redefined and experienced, becoming the subject of imperial regulation, modes of enquiry, and international and national politics. Billie Melman follows a series of globally publicized spectacular archaeological discoveries in Iraq, Egypt, and Palestine, which made antiquity material visible and accessible as never before. She demonstrates that the new definition and uses of antiquity and their relations to modernity were inseparable from the emergence of the post-war international imperial order, transnational collaboration and crises, the aspirations of national groups, and collisions between them and the British mandatories. This study uniquely combines a history of the internationalization of archaeology and the rise of a new 'regime of antiquities', under the oversight of the League of Nations and its institutions, a history of British attitudes to, and passion for near eastern antiquity and on the ground, colonial policies and mechanisms, as well as nationalist claims on the past. It points at the centrality of the new mandate system. Drawing on an unusually wide range of materials collected in archives in six countries, as well as on material and visual evidence, this volume weaves together imperial, international and national histories, and the history of archaeological discovery which it connects to imperial modernity."-- Provided by publisher "Empires of Antiquities is a history of the rediscovery of civilizations of the ancient Near East in the imperial order that evolved between the outbreak of the First World War and the 1950s. It explores the ways in which Near Eastern antiquity was redefined and experienced, becoming the subject of new regulation, new modes of knowledge, and international and local politics. A series of globally publicized spectacular archaeological discoveries in Iraq, Egypt, and Palestine, which the book follows, made antiquity visible, palpable and accessible as never before. The new uses of antiquity and its relations to modernity were inseparable from the emergence of the post-war world order, imperial collaboration and collisions, and national aspirations. Empires of Antiquities uniquely combines a history of the internationalization of a new "regime of archaeology" under the oversight of the League of Nations and its web of institutions, a history of British passions for Near Eastern antiquity, on-the-ground colonial mechanisms and nationalist claims on the past. It points to the centrality of the mandate system, particularly mandates classified A, in Mesopotamia/Iraq, Palestine and Transjordan, formerly governed by the Ottoman Empire, and of Egypt, in a new culture of antiquity. Drawing on an unusually wide range of archives in several countries, as well as on visual and material evidence, the book weaves together imperial, international, and local histories of institutions, people, ideas and objects and offers an entirely new interpretation of the history of archaeological discovery and its connections to empires and modernity."--Jaquette Empires of Antiquities is a history of the rediscovery of the imperial civilizations of the ancient Near East in a modern imperial order that evolved between 1914 and 1950. It explores the ways in which near eastern antiquity was redefined and experienced, becoming the subject of imperial regulation, modes of enquiry, and international and national politics. A series of globally publicised archaeological discoveries in Iraq, Egypt, and Palestine made antiquity material visible and accessible as never before. The book demonstrates that the new definition and uses of antiquity and their relations to modernity were inseparable from the emergence of the post-war international imperial order, transnational collaboration and crises, the aspirations of national groups, and collisions between them and the British mandatories