Feasibility of historical/archaeological investigation in the near eas

[Aurelius]

We are all familiar with the political, religious, social, and economic turmoil in the Middle east caused or characterised by the invasion of Iraq, the hostilities between Lebanon and Israel, Iran's agressive stance on the nuclear issue, afghan resistance, Hamas and Fatah rivalry, Iraqi sectarian violence, and lately palestinian riots over the excavations near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

 

Would any archaeological excavation or historical investigation still be economically or academically feasible, and safe in the Near East, especially in the Levant and Central Asia area? Given the strained diplomatic relations and various religious or political tension between factions, would the historically 'rich' regions of the Near East be denuded and/or left underdeveloped? And is there any future for Near eastern ancient history or archaeology, in the face of the destruction or barred entry of archaeological and heritage sites due to unecessary conflict.

 

These questions are of an important concern to me, as I am now contemplating whether to proceed in my studies either with combining classical archaeology with prehistoric and historic archaeology OR combining near eastern archaeology with prehistoric and historic archaeology OR in dealing singularly with classical archaeology or Near eastern Archaeology. I have also found out quite recently that numbers of students studying Near eastern archaeology in my university have dropped since the last two years.

Edited February 11, 2007 by Aurelius

[Ursus]

All I can tell you is that I personally wouldn't step foot in those places unless I were offered severe hazard pay.

 

I also cynically suggest that what happened to the Buddhist statues in Afghanistan is an indication that ancient relics are not safe until certain radical elements in that part of the world are contained.

 

What about greater Eurasia as a field of exploration? Imagine locating once and for all the homeland of the Indo-Europeans, or solving the origins of the Etruscans? There is great honor to be had.

[Maladict]

There are dozens of ongoing archaeological projects in the area, most of them financed by American and European institutions. Apart from the actual war zones, the only major problems would be uncooperative and/or corrupt officials (who can be found abundantly outside the region too) and political pressure to generate certain kinds of results. The latter can be a major problem, but generally I think it isn't as bad as it used to be.

Edited February 11, 2007 by Maladict

[Aurelius]

Yes, Those marvelous buddhist statues are all but gone now due to religious fanaticism and human idiocy. Just imagine the amount of relics,artefacts, and ancient sites that could have been properly developed, analysed and studied if not for the endemic conflict in the Mid East. But I suppose conflict and tension have existed since the rise of civilisations in the region, so that any difficulties in historical investigation proves to be no surprise at all.

 

Ursus, thanks for pointing out the 'greater Eurasian idea'. Don't know how I missed that one out, especially that connection with the Indo-Europeans and the Etruscans. I suppose that, as Maladict states, there are still ongoing archaeological excavations in the area. Though with the quite plausible war with Iran and the riots stirred up by the restoration near the Temple Mount, it still remains a volatile area. I would think that the only relatively 'safe' areas in the Mid East today would be Turkey, parts of Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and some Central Asian states.

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

Well archeology goes on even in Iraq, despite the huge troubles met by the country since the invasion. So if archeology can take place there, why not elsewhere ? Also I do notice that archeology is very active in Syria ( my own university leads two projects there ) and archeology in Israel is well known ( and can be a cause of troubles as shown by the current events in Jerusalem ).

 

In Lebanon a recently graduated student of my university was also able to go study in southern lebanon last July, after he asked permission from both the lebanese government and the Hezbollah who agreed.

 

In Iran also is archeology rather active, as shown by the massive ( but very oriented ) operations led to discover a new culture which was shown to be an independent culture born between Mesopotamia and Indus at the same time as those ( Jiroft culture ).

 

Operations in Jordan are also possible and are often led without troubles.

 

And last but not least archeological operations in the Arabic peninsula ( both in Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf States, and Yemen ) are possible and being led by various team, even if they are some risks involved in Yemen ( mostly kidnapping by tribes who wants something from the government but do not kill or maim their captives ).

[Virgil61]

Excavations will continue to go on as they have been in spite of the troubles the region seems to perpetually be in. Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and parts of Syria and Lebanon are reasonably safe. Areas from Morocco to Libya also seem to have constant excavations. I wouldn't use this issue to base my future on although you're right to be aware of the situation.

[Kosmo]

Turkey it's extremly rich in arheological remains and problems are only in SE kurd areas. Saudi Arabia it's rather unsafe because of the large number of random attacks on westerners.

 

If your planning your future then you should think in long term. Near East troubles will end sometime. I have no problem going in these areas today (except open conflict areas like Irak). TV makes things look dangerous, but usually troubles are confined in a hot spot while the rest is safe (bad luck to be in the hot spot when trouble bursts). I'm more worried about crime then about political conflicts (I felt safer in Sharm el Sheick after bombings then in Montmarte in the evening).

[Rameses the Great]

(I felt safer in Sharm el Sheick after bombings then in Montmarte in the evening).

 

I remember seeing it on the news and people in church saying, 'Who bombs us!' Sharm El Sheik is very beautiful by the way, Bush only goes there when in Egypt.

[Aurelius]

Thank you for all the input on this subject. Now that you've given me some food for thought, maybe i'll reconsider doing some units in near eastern archaeology or maybe even focusing my studies with a blend of near eastern,classical and prehistoric/historical archaeology.

 

I'm just so interested and passionate in the archaeology and antiquities from many sites and ancient civlisations around the globe that i find it confusing which area to delve into. Also, I have to consider the practical factors in my study of archaeology: finances, time taken for study, geographical proximity to my country(australia), employment optionsand so one and so forth. Unfortunately, I wasn't born with a silver spoon, so I have to earn and save up money in order to pursue higher studies in archaeology. I do hope that by the end of the first semester that I can finally decide what field of archaeology, in terms of geography and culture, i will specifically study in.

 

Once again, thanks for all the advice.