Ambitious, capacious, and impressive...at once an integrated and a comparative history of Britain's Middle Eastern empire. It is also a sharp study of hands-on archaeological practice and an important history of ideas...Such a sweeping history of archaeology's many registers is immensely ambitious and welcome...an excellent new British imperial history and work of cultural history.
Sarah Griswold, Arab Studies Journal; H-Net Middle East
Billie Melman's masterful Empires of Antiquities brings new perspectives and significant knowledge to the entangled relationships between empire building and antiquities… an important book for many reasons. It makes innovative arguments, asks difficult questions, presents fascinating case studies, and is based on critical readings of documents accumulated through many years of meticulous research. Melman's insistence on the political significance of antiquities and their multiple uses …makes Empires of Antiquities an indispensable addition to the literature on the history of archaeology.
Zeynep Çelik, Columbia University, Bustan The Middle East Book Review
this is an excellent study, filling a real gap in our understanding of the history of Near Eastern archaeology. This is a book to buy and read repeatedly.
Thomas W. Davis, Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies
Melman provides a fascinating discussion of archaeological discoveries in the Middle East from 1914 to 1940, based primarily on a rich, diverse set of primary archival materials and secondary sources. Scholars of this period will find this complex, sophisticated, and well-documented volume to be both fascinating and instructive. Highly recommended. Graduate students and faculty.
W. Kotter, Weber State University, CHOICE
Billie Melman's exploration of the "regime of antiquities" (p. 9) and the internationalisation of the (material) past offers an important contribution to a wide range of fields, including the history of the interwar period, the history of archaeology and mandate politics and mechanised technology... Overall, this book demonstrates the author's considerable research skills and her eminently readable style... The strength of Melman's volume lies in her elucidation of the entangled and manifold connections between archaeology, imperial and colonial politics and modernity. The result is an important contribution to understanding the complexity of the internationalisation of the material past and the role of archaeology in that process.
Hélène Maloigne, University College London, Antiquity