A Wandering Scholar in the Levant

Hogarth's 1896 travel narrative illuminates the relationship between archaeology and politics in the build up to the First World War.

David George Hogarth (Author)

9781108041911, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 29 December 2011

250 pages, 13 b/w illus. 1 map
21.6 x 14 x 1.4 cm, 0.32 kg

The archaeologist D. G. Hogarth (1862–1927) was, when he died, keeper of the Ashmolean Museum and president of the Royal Geographical Society. He was instrumental in launching T. E. Lawrence's career, employing him at Carchemish and encouraging him to learn Arabic. This book, published in 1896 and described by Lawrence as 'one of the best travel books ever written', relates a journey through Ottoman Turkey, with additional chapters on Egypt and Cyprus. It combines a highly readable account of the practicalities and pitfalls of archaeology with Hogarth's (often unsympathetic) opinions on political problems of the area, including the position of the Armenians and Kurds. Hogarth subsequently became acting director of the Arab Bureau in Cairo during the First World War, and attended the Versailles peace conference. This book illuminates the experiences that developed Hogarth's political views and the close relationship between archaeology and politics in the Middle East in the period.

1. The scholar's calling
2. Trials of a scholar
3. The Anatolian
4. The Great River Euphrates
5. An impression of Egypt
6. Cyprus.

Subject Areas: Archaeology by period / region [HDD]