ABSTRACT

The Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean are some of the most politically charged regions in which archaeology is implicated. Historically, they played a formative role in the birth of archaeology as a discipline. Archaeology Under Fire addresses archaeology's role in current political issues, including the ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, the division of Cyprus, and the continued destruction of Beirut. The contributors consider the positive role of the past as a means of reconciliation, whether it be in Turkey, Israel, and the Gulf. They advocate a responsible global archaeology, and an awareness of contemporary issues can only enhance this aim.

chapter Chapter 2|24 pages

The past is ours

Images of Greek Macedonia

chapter Chapter 4|24 pages

Bulgarian archaeology

Ideology, sociopolitics and the exotic

chapter Chapter 6|16 pages

The past as passion and play

Çatalhöyük as a site of conflict in the construction of multiple pasts

chapter Chapter 7|19 pages

Beirut's memorycide

Hear no evil, see no evil

chapter Chapter 8|16 pages

Conjuring Mesopotamia

Imaginative geography and a world past

chapter Chapter 9|14 pages

Whose game is it anyway?

The political and social transformations of American Biblical Archaeology

chapter Chapter 11|17 pages

Memorabilia

Archaeological materiality and national identity in Egypt

chapter Chapter 12|13 pages

Ancient Egypt in America

Claiming the riches