Soldiers, Scholars, and the Public: Archaeology During the First World War in the Ottoman Empire / Askerler, Bilim İnsanları ve Halk: Birinci Dünya Savaşı Sırasında Osmanlı İmparatorluğu nda Arkeoloji Faaliyetleri

Abstract

This article will discuss the opportunities that the First World War created for scholars and soldiers to conduct archaeological excavations and protect cultural artifacts in Ottoman lands, their motivations for doing so, and the reception of these actions by the public. When the war broke out, excavation sites were initially abandoned, scholars on all sides joined the war efforts, and public interest in antiquities waned as the brutality of the conflict grew. However, the war created many new opportunities for all the belligerents to engage in archaeology. At the same time, the aspects of the protection and appreciation of cultural heritage, including archaeology, became tools of war, wielded on the battleground of public opinion.