The Story of Archaeology in 50 Great Discoveries

The British historian Justin Pollard is the author of several books, including The Rise and Fall of Alexandria: The Birthplace of the Modern World (2006). His book about the story of archaeology was published by Quercus in 2007 (and reprinted in 2011 with a slighly different title).

This book is hardly meant for the professional archaeologist. Presumably - and hopefully - he/she already knows about the 50 great discoveries presented here. The professional archaeologist hardly wants one book about 50 discoveries, but rather 50 books about one particular discovery.

This book is probably meant for people who work in related fields - for instance an historian or a classical philologist - or the general reader who wants to know more about the past: what do we know? How do we know it? And when did we acquire this knowledge? Measured by this yardstick, I think it is a successful work.

It is a beautiful book in large format with many fine illustrations, almost all of them in colour. In addition, it has an interesting and well-written text, which shows the author's commitment and enthusiasm for his topic. Clearly, the layout and the text of this book have been carefully checked. Even so, there are a few cases where the quality control has failed.

One example is the chapter about the Roman towns Herculaneum and Pompeii both of which were buried by the volcano Vesuvius in the AD 79 (pages 16-21). On page 20 Pollard writes: 

 "In AD 64 the historian Svetonius recorded an earthquake in the region, although he was more interested in the fact that it might be a message from the gods (Emperor Nero was making his first public singing performance there at the time) than a warning from the mountain." 

This passage is unfortunate for several reasons: (1) the year is wrong. The great earthquake that shook Campania happened in 62, seventeen years before the great volcanic explosion of 79. (2) Svetonius was born around 69. His account about the twelve Roman emperors was written ca. 100-110-120. Svetonius did not "record" anything in 64. He was not even born then. (3) If you consult his biography about Nero, you will find that Svetonius does not even mention a date for the earthquake in Campania (Biography of Nero, chapter 20).

Another example is the chapter about the Greek town Olympia where the Olympic Games were held in antiquity (pages 26-29). On page 27 Pollard says: 

"In May 1829 the French Expédition Scientifique de Morée began the first excavations on the site… The finest pieces of sculpture were shipped back to the excavators' own country and they can still be seen in the Louvre in Paris. Hearing of these unauthorized exports, the Greek government immediately banned further excavations." 

This passage is unfortunate, because there was no Greek government in 1829. For many years, Greek territory had been controlled by the Turks of the Ottoman Empire. The Greeks began an uprising in 1821, but the Turks did not give up without a fight. The existence of Greece was recognized in the treaty of London in 1830. The first king - Prince Otto of Bavaria - was appointed in 1832. But his kingdom was rather small.

Modern Greece was a small state which only slowly grew bigger. Crete, for instance, did not become a part of Greece until 1913. The country did not get its present size until shortly after World War Two, when the Dodekanese Islands - including the island of Rhodes - were annexed.

When we read further on in the book, we find that Pollard does in fact know about the conflict between the Greeks and the Turks. It is clear from page 107 and again from page 108. When he knows about this conflict on pages 107 and 108, why does he not know about it on page 27?

These flaws are unfortunate, but they are the exception. Taken as a whole, I think it is a successful book.

Archaeology is a relatively new discipline whose origin might be dated to the time when the Roman towns Herculaneum and Pompeii were discovered and excavations began, that is during the 18th century. The first archaeologists used brutal and ruthless methods. They were searching for items made of gold and silver or marble. Virtually all other items were brushed aside as worthless and uninteresting. It was more of a treasure hunt than scientific research.

Since then archaeologists have changed their methods as well as their priorities. Today they proceed very carefully when excavating, and every item which can tell us something about the past is considered valuable and interesting - whether it is made of gold or silver or some more humble material.

By now archaeologists have been digging in Herculaneum and Pompeii for more than 200 years. But the work is not done yet. Herculaneum is only partly excavated. The modern town Ercolano is built on top of the ancient town. Therefore it is not possible to uncover all parts of the ancient town. Pompeii too is only partly excavated. But this is the result of a conscious decision. The whole town is accessible. But some parts have been set aside for the archaeologists of the future who may develop more advanced methods of digging than we know of today.

Pollard critizises some of the early archaeologists for their brutal methods - especially the German archaeologist and businessman Heinrich Schliemann (pages 78-83) - but he is also aware that archaeologists of our own time may one day be critized for the methods they are using today. In a sidebar about the future of archaeology (on page 247), he writes as follows: 

"No doubt we are making mistakes today which we cannot yet see, just as only now do we notice the mistakes of those archaeologists who went before us. But hopefully those to come will look charitably on our efforts and perhaps even thank us for the sites we have left for them, a legacy that will enable them to write the next chapter in the history of archaeology and of the world."

PS. For more information about this topic, see my blog The Past Revealed: Great Discoveries in Archaeology.

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Justin Pollard,
The Story of Archaeology in 50 Great Discoveries,
Quercus (2007), 256 pages

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Justin Pollard,

The Story of Archaeology: An Illustrated History of 50 Great Discoveries,

Quercus, 2011, 256 pages

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