THE RISE OF ISLAMIC ARCHAEOLOGY

Abstract

Islamic archaeology emerged as an independent field of inquiry about one hundred years ago.' It developed relatively late compared with other branches of archaeology, but has since gained considerable momentum. At the outset, the excavation of Islamic sites was characterized by a desire to recover artifacts, especially as that ensured funding and sponsorship for projects. In the twentieth century, however, the discipline of Islamic archaeology has become more rigorous, and the latenineteenth-century emphasis on recovering artifacts has been superseded by an outlook based on a more comprehensive examination of the material remains of the past. While undergoing this methodological change in the twentieth century, Islamic archaeology also responded to a variety of local conditions unique to it alone. The purpose of this essay is to highlight some of the issues and values that have guided the direction of the relatively young discipline. Islamic archaeology as it emerged in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was based upon two strands of inquiry. The first of these was an interest in the historical significance of art. In the eighteenth century, Joachim Winckelmann had indicated in the context of the classical world that there was a link between