Empire and excavation, Empire and excavation

The modern discipline of archaeology developed in tandem with the expansion of European imperialism in the 19th and 20th centuries. Cyprus, ruled by Britain between 1878 and 1960, is a fascinating example of how archaeology was practiced and developed in a specific colonial context. This volume explores the mechanisms, the institutions and the characters who contributed to the development of Cypriot archaeology, often within a fraught political environment.The 23 papers in this volume address aspects such as the role of local agents within a colonial environment; changing attitudes towards and interpretations of cultural heritage; the export of excavated materials and their onward journeys; the development of legal frameworks to prevent looting, and their practical application; co-operation and competition between different nation-states at the peak and decline of empires; the conflicts caused by economic priorities; and the impact of institutions and individuals who attempted to support or control rights over the heritage of the island. Through the lens of British-period Cyprus they trace the evolution of institutions and practices that remain important for archaeology in Cyprus to this day.This volume will be of interest to archaeologists, cultural heritage practitioners, museums, and anyone with an interest in the history of Cyprus.Table of ContentsPreface and acknowledgmentsThomas Kiely, Anna Reeve and Lindy CreweBy way of introduction. Empires and excavations in Cyprus 1878–1960Thomas KielyPART 1: PEOPLE AND PLACESOver the landscape, in the landscape? Knowledge and agency in Cypriot archaeology, 1870–1910Michael GivenDr Francis Henry Hill Guillemard (1852–1933) and the formation of the Cyprus Exploration FundRobert S. Merrillees and Thomas Kiely, with a note by Antoine HermaryWas there an official German interest in the archaeology of Cyprus between 1878 and 1914?Stephan SchmidThe Italian entomologist Giacomo Cecconi and Cyprus: a step towards the formation of the Cypriot collection in the National Archaeological Museum of FlorenceSebastiano SoldiColonial society and the dismissal of John Hilton, first Director of Antiquities in CyprusNicholas Stanley-PriceArchaeological entanglements: Palestinian refugee archaeologists in Cyprus, Libya and JordanSarah IrvingA clash of personalities, archaeological practices and empires at EnkomiGeorge PapasavvasPART 2: POLITICS AND PRACTICESThe implementation of ‘imperial policy’ on the antiquities of Cyprus (1869–1935): targeted or circumstantial?Despina PilidesOf goats, monuments and men: George Jeffery and the early management of Waqf-owned medieval monuments in British CyprusPertev BasriArchaeological politics in colonial Cyprus: Imperialism, Hellenism, and the EteocypriotsRaphael MarshallLaw and archaeology in British-period Cyprus: the case of LapithosStella DiakouMining in the archives: the mining industry and Cypriot archaeology in the British colonial periodVasiliki KassianidouWorks and days of the Cyprus Survey Branch during the period 1955–1974Lindy Crewe, Anna Georgiadou and Despina PilidesDiving into the past: archival research results of the Cyprus Coastal Assessment Project (CCAP) and the history of the first underwater archaeological explorations in CyprusPanagiotis Theofanous, Maria Volikou and Despina PilidesPART 3: LEGACIES AND RECEPTIONSExploring the legacy of imperialist logic: new theoretical approaches to the historiography of Cypriot sculptureCatherine V. OlienCyprus and its antiquities at the British Empire Exhibition, 1924–1925Anna ReeveThe Ancient Cyprus Collection at the British Museum: retracing stories of travelling antiquities, knowledge, and empirePolina NikolaouNational press coverage of the Swedish Cyprus ExpeditionKristian GöranssonThe Diaspora of Cypriot Antiquities in SwanseaErsin HusseinCommunicating archaeology in British-period Cyprus: from Ohnefalsch-Richter to DikaiosAnastasia Leriou and Giorgos VavouranakisPrehistoric archaeology in the Republic of Cyprus: the first sixty yearsA. Bernard KnappCypriot Aphrodite, archaeological representation and British colonial discourse: a reappraisalChristine E. Morris and Giorgos PapantoniouReferences