By Miri -
Much of
Palestine's/Israel's appeal to tourists stems from it constituting
the claimed historical site of many of the stories of the holy scriptures and tourists come
in flocks to see the numerous excavation sites, many of which seem to
confirm the narrative of the bible. But can the material remains
that archaeologists have discovered, interpreted, selected and
arranged in front of us, always be taken as representing one
objective truth? Hardly. Like many other disciplines, archaeology is
often cloaked behind a facade of empirical objectivity, but like
those other disciplines, also archaeology should be regarded as "a
process influenced by the aims of its practitioners, who are, in
turn, deeply affected by contemporary intellectual, social and
political agendas."
Politicising
Archaeology
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Excavation in Palestine, ca. 1930 |
Like anthropology and other related disciplines, archaeology is a child of European colonialism. Rather than focussing on the past of "native" and "recent" cultures, Western archaeologists typically devoted a larger share of attention to those discoveries which seemed to be ancestral to Europe. In the process, local people living in the surroundings of excavation sites, were commonly seen as divorced from the ancient past, and treated as chaep labour, or as obstacles to the research and were in many cases expelled from their homes.
With a critical turn in
the field, archaeologists started questioning previous
excavations, highlighting the subjective interests/perspectives of
the scholars, as well as the political contexts in which
archaeological research had been conducted. Especially within the
context of ethnic or national conflicts which frequently involve
contentious territorial and proprietary claims which are based on the
ancient past, archaeologists helped underwriting specific agendas by
utilizing material remains to narrate a specific history.
In Nazi Germany for
instance German archaeologists set out to Eastern Europe in order to
find Germanic sites, which would demonstrate Aryan racial superiority
and justify the expansion of the Third Reich to include all of
"ancient Germany". So although archaeologists most likely
did not directly participate in the Nazi crimes they did contribute
to the legitimacy of the regime, and were thus accomplices in the
inhumane acts of the regime.
Archaeology in Israel
Zionism, although
originally a secular movement, to a large extent rests on the claimed
historical Jewish right to Palestine, as described in the bible, and
the work of many Israeli archaeologists has been focussed on
affirming those biblical and Zionist narratives through
their discoveries.
From the 1970s
onwards however, a new breed of Israeli archaeologists emerged, who,
similar to the "New Historians", who started questioning
Zionist historical narratives, stopped treating the bible as “the
unquestioned narrative framework into which every archaeological find
must be fit“.
Many of those critical scholars
also agree that Israel is using archaeology as a weapon in order to
expand the Jewish presence, specifically in Jerusalem. Archaeologist
Yoni Mizrachi of Emek Shaveh (“Common Ground” ) - a non-profit
organisation opposing the political use of archaeology - says that
archaeology in Israel is not just about privileging one history:
“It's used to take lands, put holes in the ground; it's as much a
settlement as anything.”
The Example of Silwan –
City of David
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View at Silwan |
Silwan is a
Palestinian village south-east of Jerusalem's Old City. The location
of the village has been long referred to by archaeologists and
biblical scholars as the oldest part of Jerusalem and the site of the City of David, where David built
his palace and established his capital. Ever since the first
excavations were conducted in Silwan in 1867 by the Palestine
Exploration Fund, “the modern village has literally grown up
around archaeological sites“.
The discoveries
from the area have been indeed very rich, but rather than exclusively
supporting the biblical narrative, they resemble an "archaeological
mishmash", which shows that "for 5,000 years Jerusalemites
have dismantled ancient structures, turned over graves, and excavated
down to the bedrock to re-cycle the worked stones of their
ancestors". However, rather than exhibiting a multilayered site,
which would in fact tell the story of the various cultures comprising
the city's past and present, archaeologists by and large focus on the
Israeli angle of the narrative. Yet not all findings easily
underwrites this narrative and some discoveries in Silwan have indeed
stirred controversies among archaeologists and biblical scholars. In
1998 a massive city wall was found, which dated roughly to 1500 BCE,
i.e. 500 years before David's takeover of the city, and thus
supported a rival theory of the existence of a large scale urban
centre pre-existing David and Solomon.
In 1995 the City of
David Archaeological Park was founded, which fuelled the process of
an Israeli reclamation of the village of Silwan and the concomitant expulsion and dispossession of its Palestinian residents.
According to
Israel‘s Law of Antiquities, all building sites need first to be
checked for archaeological remains, and consequently, construction of
settler homes and tourist infrastructure have prompted even more
excavations throughout the valley.
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Entrance to the City of David Archaeological Park |
Since 1997 the park
has been operated by the right-wing settler foundation Ir David
(ELAD). This organisation “funds numerous state-run archaeological
excavations and brings hundreds of thousands of people to the Holy
Basin each year.” Apart from clearly selecting and manipulating the
discoveries in order to narrate the contested biblical story of
David's takeover of the Jebusite City, the very practice of
archaeology in Silwan has contributed to a physical reshaping of the
village, as well as paving the legal path for Jewish settlement
expansion. Many of the archaeologists at work are reportedly aware of, and
opposed to the destructive force of settlement activities, as well as
the consequences they have for the Palestinian residents, but instead
of speaking up, they simply proclaim an objective distance from
ideological conflicts, and thus overlook their complicity in turning
a living Palestinian village into a fabricated place called "City
of David".
Green Olive Tours organises weekly tours to Silwan and the City of David which deal with the sensitive and controversial issues affecting the lives of people in Silwan.
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