Cover of Artifact and Artifice
Artifact and Artifice Classical Archaeology and the Ancient Historian
by Jonathan M. Hall
University of Chicago Press, 2013
Cloth: 978-0-226-31338-2 | Paper: 978-0-226-09698-8 | Electronic: 978-0-226-08096-3
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226080963.001.0001

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ABOUT THIS BOOKAUTHOR BIOGRAPHYREVIEWSTABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THIS BOOK

Is it possible to trace the footprints of the historical Sokrates in Athens? Was there really an individual named Romulus, and if so, when did he found Rome? Is the tomb beneath the high altar of St. Peter’s Basilica home to the apostle Peter? To answer these questions, we need both dirt and words—that is, archaeology and history. Bringing the two fields into conversation, Artifact and Artifice offers an exciting excursion into the relationship between ancient history and archaeology and reveals the possibilities and limitations of using archaeological evidence in writing about the past.
 
Jonathan M. Hall employs a series of well-known cases to investigate how historians may ignore or minimize material evidence that contributes to our knowledge of antiquity unless it correlates with information gleaned from texts. Dismantling the myth that archaeological evidence cannot impart information on its own, he illuminates the methodological and political principles at stake in using such evidence and describes how the disciplines of history and classical archaeology may be enlisted to work together. He also provides a brief sketch of how the discipline of classical archaeology evolved and considers its present and future role in historical approaches to antiquity. Written in clear prose and packed with maps, photos, and drawings, Artifact and Artifice will be an essential book for undergraduates in the humanities.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Jonathan M. Hall is the Phyllis Fay Horton Distinguished Service Professor in the Humanities and professor in the Departments of History and Classics and the College at the University of Chicago. He is the author of three books, most recently A History of the Archaic Greek World, ca. 1200–479 BCE. He lives in Chicago, Illinois.

REVIEWS

“The premise of this book—to summarize the development of arguments concerning identification of particular sites in the ancient world known from both literary and archaeological sources—is very interesting. . . . Recommended.”
— Choice

“Artifact and Artifce makes clear that textual evidence and archaeological evidence must be situated within a broader literary and material context. No research field, regardless of its cumulative perceptions, is one dimensional; nothing is as simple as it appears. . . . [Hall’s] book demonstrates that . . . promising avenues for a fruitful dialogue between disciplines are certainly in the offing.”
— Journal of Interdisciplinary History

“In the shoes of a master sleuth, Hall, expert in many fields, guides his readers through nine prominent cases in which scholars have combined material and textual evidence to explain the archaeological record. Judiciously exposing errors and pitfalls and searching for methods that promise tenable results, he presents a thoroughly researched, well-written, and fascinating tale of history as an active, forensic practice that will help archaeologists and historians to collaborate more productively.”
— Kurt A. Raaflaub, Brown University

"Hall deftly analyses the politics that lie behind the archaeology. This is an eloquent discussion."
— Current World Archaeology

"A careful and informative introduction to the case studies."
— Bryn Mawr Classical Review

“Hall is one of our very best archaeo-historians, a specialist in ancient Greece who is as conversant with and as competent in handling the authentic but mute evidence of archaeology as the often-unsatisfactory written texts, and authoritative, especially in marrying the two different kinds of historical sources. In his latest book he ranges widely in period and place from archaic (preclassical) Delphi and Eretria to thirteenth-century CE Hierapolis in modern Turkey by way of classical Athens, Alexander’s Macedonia, and regal-period Rome, among others. Like many of the best books in his field, this series of acutely researched and shrewdly argued case studies is firmly based on his teaching at the University of Chicago and will be a boon for instructors and students alike.”
— P. A. Cartledge, author of After Thermopylae: The Oath of Plataea and the End of the Graeco-Persian

“Too many books have been labeled thought provoking, but the verdict would in any case be an understatement here. Artifact and Artifice targets one of the most basic tenets in classical studies that impact archaeologists and ancient historians alike in their everyday research operations. Hall surveys the driving theories of the ‘Great Divide’ to take us on an eventful journey to ancient places that are well known. Or are they? From the Pythia at Delphi to the Bones of St. Peter, from the Athenian agora to the House of Augustus, Hall discloses how our understanding is blurred by entangled preconceptions of visual and textual legacies. Accented with superb snapshots of the mind and rich illustrations, his case studies offer dazzling aperçus into key themes in antiquity. Artifact and Artifice should be in the hands of anyone interested in the field of classical studies.”
— Hans Beck, McGill University

“Offers a good overview of important discoveries and their historical context, particularly for students of ancient history and classical archaeology, and also increases awareness of the proper use of sources within and among disciplines. Spanning both fields, this study integrates crucial questions and discussions that can be pedagogically useful and stimulating for individual research.”
— sehepunkte

“Excellent. . . . This lively and provocative survey offers a good overview of several important discoveries and their historical context for students, teachers and lovers of the ancient world.”
— Classics for All Reviews

“Just in time to lead the way for a new generation of scholars. . . .  Highly commendable and obligatory reading in both ancient history and archaeology classes.”
— American Journal of Archaeology

“Texts may lie. The spade cannot lie—it is mute. We make it speak for us through our imagination, based on what seem comparable but better understood cases, and through our knowledge of texts (history). Thus arises the question of whether a scholar should come to classical archaeology from textual study and ancient history rather than field archaeology and art history. Jonathan Hall confronts this question in nine case studies, Greek and Roman. . . . While the physical evidence on hand may be incomplete or misinterpreted and the literary evidence a matter of convenience or pure invention, Hall’s expertise with both is phenomenal, and he carefully dissects it all. He offers a serious, if tacit, warning to both archaeologists and historians that they will do well to heed.”
— Common Knowledge

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Illustrations

Abbreviations

Preface


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226080963.003.0001
[classical archaeology, ancient history, archaeology, art history, classics, prehistory, anthropology]
This chapter traces the disciplinary development of the field of classical archaeology and its relationship with ancient history. Born from an aesthetic and antiquarian interest in the past, with roots in the Renaissance, classical archaeology strengthened its alliance with philology in the early nineteenth century, though this alliance was threatened by the emergence of the field of prehistory in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century. The ‘anthropological turn’ of mainstream archaeology in the mid-twentieth century served further to drive a wedge between archaeologists and philologists. Today, the field is divided between those who regard it as a branch of archaeology, art history, classics, or a discipline in its own right. (pages 1 - 2)

The Rediscovery of the Past

The Opening Up of Greece

Philological Archaeology

The Birth of Prehistory

Theory Wars

The Triumph of Science?


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226080963.003.0002
[Delphi, oracle, hydrocarbon gases, gaseous emissions, seismic activity, Pythian priestess, hallucinogenic trance]
It has recently been suggested that seismic activity and emissions of hydrocarbon gases in the Delphi region were responsible for inducing a hallucinogenic trance, in which the Pythian priestess of Apollo uttered oracular pronouncements. This chapter considers the literary, archaeological, and geological evidence for the Delphic oracle. Apart from the fact that the theory of gaseous emissions has not met with universal consensus from within the scientific community, it offers little explanation as to how the oracle functioned in practice or why prominent individuals and city-states should have invested so much authority in the oracular pronouncements that issued from Delphi. (pages 19 - 22)

The Geology of the Site

Inspired Mantic or Fraudulent Puppet?

Conclusion

Documents for Chapter 2


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226080963.003.0003
[Eretria, Euboia, Herodotos, Persians, fixed points, chronology]
The destruction of the stone temple at Eretria on Euboia has generally been linked to Herodotos’ account of how the city was sacked by the Persians in 490 BCE. If true, the correlation establishes a ‘fixed point’ that anchors stylistic chronologies of art and architecture to historical dates, but it has been argued that the temple destroyed by the Persians was an earlier, wooden one and that the stone temple dates to after the Persian War of 480-479 BCE. This, in turn, would imply that our stylistic chronologies need to be revised downward. This chapter examines the merits of the objection and concludes that, on balance, the arguments for the traditional chronology are stronger. (pages 35 - 37)

A Tale of Two Temples

Yet Another Temple?

Unmooring “Fixed Points”

Science to the Rescue?

Documents for Chapter 3

The Archaios Neos at Eleusis


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226080963.003.0004
[Eleusis, Attika, sanctuaries, Persia, fourth century]
Evidence from Eleusis and other sanctuaries in Attica suggests that they were not repaired for several decades after the Persian sack of 480-479 BCE. Fourth-century authors referred to two events, more than a century earlier, that may explain this gap in building activity: the Oath of Plataia, by which the Greeks swore not to restore their destroyed sanctuaries, and the Peace of Kallias, which put a formal end to hostilities with Persia. Generally, archaeologists have accepted the historicity of the two events, while historians have been more sceptical. This chapter examines the evidence and concludes that, while the agreements recorded by fourth-century authors were certainly embellished, they probably rest on some genuinely historical basis. (pages 59 - 61)

The Peace of Kallias

Restoring the Sanctuaries of Attica

Conclusion

Documents for Chapter 4


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226080963.003.0005
[Sokrates, Athens, Agora, House of Simon, Poros Building, state prison, democracy]
Attempts have sometimes been made to identify the archaeological footprint of Sokrates in the material record of Athens – especially in the Agora, the civic centre of the city. This chapter considers two examples: the House of Simon the cobbler and a building (the Poros Building) conjectured to be the state prison. It concludes that the evidence connecting these structures to the Sokrates of the literary tradition is far from compelling and that it may be unrealistic to identify individuals in the archaeological record of a democratic society that was averse to personal records of accomplishment. (pages 77 - 77)

The House of Simon

The State Prison

Sokrates on Death Row

Conclusion

Documents for Chapter 5


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226080963.003.0006
[Vergina, Macedonia, Tomb II, Philip II, Philip Arrhidaios, Aigeai, Alexander the Great]
Most, if not all, scholars believe that the wealthy tombs, discovered at Vergina in 1977, are those of Macedon’s ruling family but opinion is divided as to whether the richest (Tomb II) is the grave of Philip II or his son, Philip Arrhidaios. This chapter examines the various arguments that have been made on each side, together with the claim that Vergina is the ancient Macedonian capital of Aigeai. It advances the tentative conclusion that Tomb II was originally designed for Alexander the Great but eventually used for his half-brother, Arrhidaios, after Alexander’s funerary cortege had been diverted by Ptolemy towards Alexandria. (pages 97 - 102)

The Political Dimension

Aigeai and Vergina

The Occupants of Tomb II

The Tomb and Its Contents

A Third Possibility

Conclusion

Documents for Chapter 6


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226080963.003.0007
[Rome, Palatine Hill, Romulus, wall, literary traditions, development of Rome]
Excavations on the slopes of the Palatine hill in Rome have brought to light a stretch of wall and a monumental building, both dating to the eighth century BCE, which have been associated with the legends telling of Romulus’ foundation of Rome in 753 BCE. This chapter examines the credibility of the literary traditions on Rome’s foundation before turning to a consideration of the recent archaeological findings within the general context of the development of Rome in the eighth century. Rather than confirming the historicity of the literary traditions, it is suggested that the excavated remains were the physical core around which those traditions coalesced in subsequent centuries. (pages 119 - 121)

Untangling the Foundation Myths of Rome

Romulus and Remus

The Early Kings Materialized?

State Formation and Urbanization

Conclusion

Documents for Chapter 7


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226080963.003.0008
[Roman Republic, Tarquinius Superbus, Jupiter Capitolinus, Capitoline hill, Consultate, Marcus Horatius Pulvillus]
According to tradition, the Republican system of government at Rome was instituted in 509 BCE, after the expulsion of the last king, Tarquinius Superbus. The date would appear to be confirmed by the most recent study of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus on the Capitoline hill, which was said to have been dedicated by one of the first consuls, Marcus Horatius Pulvillus. This chapter considers the evidence for the monarchy at Rome and for the introduction of the consulate, concluding that the evidence for the former is unreliable while that for the latter is not as straightforward as the literary sources suggest. (pages 145 - 148)

The Fall of a Tyrant

The Nature of the Kingship

The Origins of the Consulship

"Etruscan” Rome

Conclusion

Documents for Chapter 8


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226080963.003.0009
[Rome, Palatine hill, Augustus, house, Suetonius]
If the identification of a residential complex on the Palatine hill of Rome as the house of the first emperor, Augustus, is correct, the evidence accords poorly with Suetonius’ testimony that Augustus’ residence was modest. This chapter considers some recent archaeological studies of the complex, which have clarified the different phases of construction. It then matches these findings against the literary evidence to demonstrate that, while some reconstructions of the complex are overly imaginative, there is a fundamental incompatibility between the archaeological evidence and the description of Suetonius, whose testimony has probably been overvalued. (pages 167 - 167)

The House Unearthed

From Dux to Princeps

Reconciling the Evidence

Documents for Chapter 9

The Discovery of the Tomb


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226080963.003.0010
[Rome, St Peter’s, Peter, Paul, Appian Way, San Sebastiano, Constantine]
The identification of human remains beneath the high altar of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome as those of the apostle Peter rests on archaeological evidence that is open to more than one interpretation. Claims that the findings corroborate the literary tradition on Peter’s ministry fail to take account of the existence of different, co-existing traditions – including the claim that the remains of both Peter and Paul were housed in a complex on the Appian Way (beneath the current church of San Sebastiano). This chapter argues that the belief that Peter was buried in the Vatican certainly predates the time of the emperor Constantine in the fourth century CE but that it is difficult to trace this belief back into the first century CE. (pages 189 - 193)

Peter in Rome

Peter on the Appian Way

Peter in Jerusalem

Conclusion

Postscript: The Tomb of St. Philip

Documents for Chapter 10


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226080963.003.0011
[methodology, ancient history, classical archaeology, training, mutual expectations, disciplinary structures, universities]
This chapter considers some of the methodological conclusions that arise from the previous case-studies. It then traces some of the differences that have arisen and often continue to exist between ancient historians and classical archaeologists in terms of training and mutual expectations. Finally, it considers the disciplinary structures of modern universities to assess the feasibility of any rapprochement between classical archaeology and ancient history. (pages 207 - 211)

Words and Things

Bridging the “Great Divide”?

List of Ancient Authors

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Book published by University of Chicago Press, 2013. Page maintained by BiblioVault.