مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - Approaches to Ancient Artefacts in the Ottoman Empire in World War I and the Archaeological Excavations in Anatolia

Abstract :

Anatolia, an area of land which has perhaps the richest range of cultural diversity, has witnessed and supported the rise and fall of many civilizations. The world, not least the western world, has always been intrigued by this cultural wealth lying beneath Anatolian feet. The passion for archaeology begun by Winckelmann in the West expanded quickly and reached Anatolia and many historical ruins were visited and ancient toponyms localised by western explorers. Unfortunately, many of the historical remains were lost due to the lack of the necessary regulations, law and its enforcement in that period. Osman Hamdi Bey took the largest step towards the solution of this problem and the İstanbul Archaeological Museums were established. Just after these remarkable developments he unfortunately died in 1910 and the First World War broke out 4 years after his death. Many excavations by Europeans, including the Troia excavation, the first excavation in the history of Anatolia begun by H. Schliemann in 1871, were all effected and interrupted by the beginning of the First World War. There is a marked emptiness in the record of excavations between 1914 and 1919. But, in this period, the building which was formerly used as a school became the Şark Eserleri Müzesi (Eastern Artefacts Museum), a remarkable improvement with the building transformed into a museum in 1917. In this paper the condition of historical sites and excavations in Anatolia in the course of the First World War are introduced and the attitude of the Committee of Union and Progress towards historical artefacts, and the historical and archaeological consequences of the First World War in Anatolia, are presented in a holistic way.