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Sponsored by: Archaeological Institute of America
What do archaeologists do when the world’s at war? Surprisingly, many of them turn spy. During both the First and Second World Wars archaeologists on all sides became involved with military intelligence, turning their in-depth knowledge of the land and the peoples they studied to support their countries at war. This was no more apparent than in the Middle East where prominent archaeologists played a very political game during the First World War. Some of these names, such as T.E. Lawrence, known as Lawrence of Arabia, would become legendary. Others, when the war was over simply went back to their museums and their excavations.
Short bibliography and/or website on lecture topic:
“Digging for King and Country”, Juliette Desplat, The National Archives Blog, 2014 https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/digging-king-country/
T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, 1922 (and many later editions)
“Not all Archaeologists are Spies…”, Kate Sheppard, Adventures in History and Archaeology Blog, 2014 https://doctorkate.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/not-all-archaeologists-are-spies/
Kershaw Lecture
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