Warriors for the Fatherland: National Consciousness and Archaeology in 'Barbarian' Epirus and 'Verdant' Ionia, 1912-22

Authors

  • Jack Davis University of Cincinnati

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jmea.v13i1.29908

Keywords:

nationalism, political policy, Greece, Turkey, Albania, Balkans

Abstract

Nationalism has exercised a profound influence on the discipline of archaeology, in many cases determining research agenda, even where its effects may not be obvious at first glance. This paper contributes to the current discourse concerning the relationship between nationalist ideology and archaeology by examining two instances where, in the early decades of the 20th century, the military agenda of Greece shaped a nationalist program of archaeological research: in southern Albania (1912-13) and in western Turkey (1920-22). In both cases, this archaeological project has made contributions of inestimable value to the policies of the state; reverberations may still be heard, nearly a century later, in the public attitudes that shape political policy in the southern Balkans. I suggest that archaeologists can contribute to constructing new relationships between archaeology and the state that have the potential to avoid pitfalls and abuses of the past.

Author Biography

  • Jack Davis, University of Cincinnati
    Jack L. Davis is an Aegean prehistorian and classical archaeologist with a particular interest in regional studies. He has co-directed surface surveys on the islands of Keos in the Cyclades and at Nemea in the Peloponnese, and directed the Pylos Regional Archaeological Project. He is a co-director of the Mallakastra Regional Archaeological Project, which is investigating areas near the ancient city of Apollonia in central Albania. Since 1993 he has been Carl W. Blegen Professor of Greek Archaeology at the University of Cincinnati.

Published

2000-08-01

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Davis, J. (2000). Warriors for the Fatherland: National Consciousness and Archaeology in ’Barbarian’ Epirus and ’Verdant’ Ionia, 1912-22. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology, 13(1), 76-98. https://doi.org/10.1558/jmea.v13i1.29908