9
Classical versus Islamic Antiquities in
Colonial Archaeology: The Russian Empire
and French North Africa
This chapter revisits the connection between nationalism and religion in a
very diVerent setting to that seen in the biblical lands (Chapter 6) and, to a
certain extent, in Central, South, and Southeast Asia (Chapters 7 and 8). It
analyses how religion is able to induce the creation of alternative historical
discourses to those formed on the basis of the remains of the classical
civilizations. On the one hand, the historical account about the Greeks, the
Romans and other contemporary peoples inXuenced by them such as
the Scythes still maintained their powerful allure as symbols of civilization
and of one’s own empire. On the other, however, the weight religion had
in the nineteenth century allowed for the search of the national origin
in other periods with special signiWcance for particular churches. Thus, the
Byzantine period became appropriated as a Golden Age in the Russian
Empire. In contrast, the Islamic past never acquired a similar status in the
French colonies of North Africa. The religious undertones of particular
archaeological periods were also used to undertake a racial reading of modern
populations, and therefore had a direct impact on the colonization of the
area. Yet, during the nineteenth century the eVect of all this in archaeology
was only limited, for the search for ancient remains stubbornly maintained a
focus on the classical past.
A comparison between the archaeology of the Russian colonies and of
French North Africa reveals several similarities and diVerences which shed
light on the processes guiding the development of archaeology in each of
these areas. In both of them the historical narrative produced by the colon-
izers was one in which the classical periods were better regarded and valued
more positively than others, following a hierarchy from classical to Byzantine,
and then to the prehistoric and Islamic periods. Also, in both colonial areas
archaeology was practised by many diVerent actors: individuals from a
breadth of occupations, and professionals belonging to many institutions,
colonizers settled in the colonies as well as others coming from the metropolis.