The Eastern Mediterranean, Palestine, Iraq, and Mesopotamia were all important places for the construction of Western European Judeo-Christian identities at the turn of the twentieth century. Hélène Maloigne talks about the importance of archaeology in this context, introducing figures such as Charles Stenard Bulley, a British archaeologist who was also one of the most successful popularisers of the discipline. Through changes in the press in the 1920s and 30s, phenomena such as ‘Egyptomania’ took hold in Europe after the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, showing how the professionalisation of archaeology as a discipline went hand in hand with its high visibility in the media. Maloigne also points out how Western archaeologists’ extraction of knowledge and material culture was perceived very critically in the Middle East, leading to concerted efforts to control who had access to this material past.

All across the eastern Mediterranean and west Asia, archaeologists played a very important role in creating new nations. Such communities need things or ideas or founding myths in common. Archaeologists provide the stories, we provide the objects.

HÉLÈNE AT TELL ATCHANA, HATAY PROVINCE, TURKEY.

Hélène Maloigne is a historian of archaeology, science and popular culture and an archaeologist with over ten years of fieldwork experience. They are Assistant Director of Artefacts and Collections, Tell Atchana, Alalakh Excavations and lecturer in history at Greenwich University

Episode 47 – Spectacular Sites

Podcasts are published by TLP for the purpose of encouraging informed debate on the legacies of the events surrounding the Lausanne Conference. The views expressed by participants do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of TLP, its partners, convenors or members.

PODCAST EDITING BY JAN ALBRECHT. IMAGES © MURAT AKAR, 2023.