Jealous Laws: a conference on collecting, studying and managing antiquities in the Ottoman Mediterranean during the long 19th Century

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Many modern institutions, especially those from the Global West, trace the origins of their disciplines to this era of profound socio-political transformation especially following Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt and Syria which transformed West Asia into a popular target for tourists, antiquarians, historians, and archaeologists. A close examination of the activities and attitudes of these ‘intellectual antecedents,’ within the context legislative frameworks – sometimes explicitly stated otherwise implicitly inferred – allows for the conceptualisation of the motives behind 19th century antiquarian and archaeological scholarship.

This is a vital dimension to explore considering the hereditary nature of cultural heritage management, which has unfortunately been neglected in traditional historiographies. Alongside this, local interest and agency might invariably be misconstrued if scholars do not acknowledge the historical and legal context in which their predecessors operated, and instead focus on their socio-academic backgrounds. Indeed, a failure to highlight the impact of the antiquities laws, such as those which appeared in Greece and the Ottoman Empire during the latter part of the 19th century, unfairly characterises this period of dynamism and change as one of inertia and stagnation.

This conference brings together leading scholars from the disciplines of history, archaeology, art history, and cultural studies in order to reflect upon the genesis of their respective disciplines at an individual and legal level.

Keynote Speaker:

Edhem Eldem, Boğaziçi University

Other Speakers Include:

• Alexandra Solovyev, Oxford University
• Anna Reeve, University of London
• Artemis Papatheodorou, Koç University-Istanbul and Harvard University
• Debbie Challis, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and Honorary Research Fellow, University of Liverpool
• Lucia Patrizio Gunning, University College London
• Pertev Basri, Durham University
• Sebastian Marshall, Cambridge University
• Thomas Kiely, British Museum

Also supported by the Centre for the Study of the Ancient Mediterranean and the Near East (CAMNE), the Institute of Classical Studies (ICS),the Durham Centre for Cultural Heritage Protection and GRAD (Graduate Research Archaeology at Durham).

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