http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/Primetime/archaeology030720.html
In the Crossfire Real-Life Archaeology Is Getting More Dangerous Than in the Movies July 20� Through the eyes of Hollywood, archaeology is an exciting profession whose practitioners often hold the fate of the world in their hands. Indiana Jones fought savage tribesmen and murderous competitors to keep the Ark of the Covenant from the Nazis. In the recent Mummy movies, a pair of archaeologists braved musty Egyptian catacombs to save the world from an ancient evil. And in the upcoming Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, Angelina Jolie's character skips from underwater temples to Central Africa for the coveted, mythical Pandora's Box. But those challenges are nothing compared to those faced by their real-life counterparts. While modern-day archaeologists rarely have to confront lava pits, animated stone statues or the undead, they increasingly contend with entire peoples, becoming the frontline troops in the clash of civilizations. As empires and superpowers fade, cultural, religious and nationalistic movements have been growing in strength � and they are looking to archaeology to give them the validation of history, said Philip Kohl, editor of the book Nationalism, Politics and the Practice of Anthropology. "It's part of a post-modern movement," said Kohl, who teaches anthropology at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. He associated the trend with the end of the age of empires and the Cold War, and the ethnic conflicts that followed. For example, in northern India this spring, archaeologists began digging at the ruins of a 16th-century mosque to see if a Hindu temple also existed in the spot. What they find in the ruins of the Babri Masjid could settle a dispute between Hindus and Muslims that began, depending on your point of view, a decade ago � or half-a-millennium ago � or even earlier. Hindus say the mosque was built by Muslims after they destroyed a temple to the god Ram, who Hindus say was born on the site. In 1992, a Hindu mob destroyed the mosque, setting off a round of religious violence in which 3,000 people died. If proof of a temple is found, Hindu militant groups could use it to justify the destruction of the ancient mosque, and try to persuade the courts to allow the construction of a new temple. The Biggest Flashpoint If ethnic and religious conflict is at the root of politically motivated archaeology, it should be no surprise that archaeologists specializing in the Middle East have had the most experience with it. In an area where "time seems to be immaterial � there is no shortage of political interests," said Guillermo Alcazar, an archaeologist from the University of California, San Diego. He made note of Masada, a 2,000-year-old fortress on the edge of the Dead Sea, where hundreds of Jewish fighters made their last stand after the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 74. The site was largely ignored until about 50 years ago, when Israel started to use the site to swear in some of its soldiers, he said � as if to say they will never again suffer the same fate. When the Palestinians first established the framework of a state, Alcazar said, "One of the first things they did was to establish a department of antiquities and dig like crazy." The focus of most of these efforts is Jerusalem, a holy city for three of the world's major religions. Within Jerusalem is the Temple Mount, an area central to the religious narratives of Jews, Christians and Muslims. The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism and the third-holiest in Islam. Christians believe Jesus Christ preached there, and many evangelicals believe the site is central to Jesus' return. Archaeologists working on the Temple Mount have been involved in a political tug of war as recently as last fall, when a group of Jewish archaeologists complained to the Islamic trust in charge that a bulge in a wall there posed a serious risk of collapse. Early this year, the Islamic trust began repairs � but the Jewish archaeologists had them stop because they said the repairs were making the problem worse. The same archaeologists have also been alleging that the Islamic trust is trying to erase any evidence that a Jewish temple stood on the site. The trust has dismissed both complaints as politically motivated. The dispute has gotten so heated that the Jewish archaeologists have hired private aircraft to take aerial pictures of the site every few weeks. During the last major archaeological dispute over the Temple Mount in 1996, Israeli archaeologists opened a small exit to a tunnel in the mount. But Palestinians claimed it was a nefarious plot to undermine the foundation of their holy places. Riots ensued. A World in Conflict Jerusalem is far from the only place in the world where these sort of disputes have occurred. Archaeologists point to the widespread destruction of holy sites during the Bosnian war, and the efforts of each side to erase any trace of the other's connection to the land. In the subsequent Kosovo war, archaeology played an even bigger role, because Serbs consider Kosovo the birthplace of their civilization because the area was once the seat of the Serb Orthodox Church and the site of a 1389 defeat at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. Albanians trace their ties to the area to another people who lived in the Balkans as far back as 1200 B.C. Archaeology may even have a role in the roots of the current Iraq conflict. One of the reasons for the first Gulf War is that the historically minded Saddam Hussein says Kuwait was once a province of ancient Mesopotamia, the majority of which comprises modern Iraq. On the other hand, Kuwaitis trace their origins to a nomadic tribe that settled there in the 18th century. And in the United States, a battle exists over the fate of "Kennewick Man," believed to be the oldest and most complete set of skeletal remains in North America. American Indian tribes say studying the remains would be a religious offense, but some scientists say the protest has developed because the Kennewick Man's European features challenges the assumption that Native Americans were the first Americans. "Once you start looking for the phenomenon, you can find it everywhere," Kohl said. Kohl, who specializes in Central Asia, says archaeology has been particularly subject to politics in this area because states are emerging for the first time, from under the umbrella of the Soviet Union, and defining a history for their peoples. He says some of his colleagues admonished him for his book. Many of the Central Asian states are Muslim, and the disputes over the Babri Masjid and Jerusalem involve Muslims as well. But archaeologists say disputes are not a uniquely Islamic phenomenon. Once a site is considered sacred, it tends to carry on its holy status, regardless of the dominant religion, they said. Alcazar noted that the national cathedral of Mexico is built over an Aztec holy site. "Christians built over pagan temples except there are no pagans left," said Oleg Grabar, a Princeton University professor. "Islam is also the civilization in more constant contact with more civilizations." The Authorities vs. the Believers Fifty years ago, religion was on its way down and it was easy to get work done, Grabar said. Today, he said sadly, "It's something we can no longer do. It is a real problem." Grabar, who works with has mediated Holy Land archaeological disputes for UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural organization, said it's easy for secular authorities to come up with rules on dealing with sites, but when religion is involved, there are more authorities, and things get more complicated. He recalled one time when he objected to a wall the Greek patriarch had set up at an entrance in Jerusalem, with a "horrible" mosaic that violated UNESCO rules. When his team confronted the patriarch, the prelate said to them: "Here you are, six historians and archaeologists, and you probably never go to church. I could get something like 100,000 pilgrims to sign a petition to support it. You're going to tell me that I'm wrong?'" "To those of us who have no faith, it's just a chance to see the curiosity of human behavior," Grabar said. "But to people who believe, we're not talking about fun and games." On the other hand, Grabar said that without apolitical authorities, some of the world's great treasures might have been lost. He cited the international community's adoption of Angkor Wat, the ancient temple complex in Cambodia. So if the action can be taken on places like that, why can't it be applied to sites in the Middle East and India? Grabar asked. "Just because the Hindus, Israelis will fight, then we shouldn't?" Malcolm Bell, an archaeologist who works with the University of Virginia, concedes, "There are a lot of moral questions sometimes we don't deal with." Sometimes, though, the debate over archaeological sites isn't even worth the time. Kohl recalls that in 1971, the last Shah of Iran held an immense celebration on the ruins of Persepolis, the ancient capital of Persia, to celebrate 2,500 years of the Persian monarchy. "It was a humongous circus," he recalled. The shah invited VIPs from around the world, set up lavish tents and dressed personnel in ancient dress. But less than a decade later, Kohl said, the statement the shah was trying to make would seem ridiculous. The Iranian revolution began, and the monarchy collapsed. "It really showed it had feet of clay." _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
