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

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.