An Inside Story of the German Excavations at Babylon (1899-1906): The Accounts of Robert Koldewey and Walter Andrae, and Turkish Perceptions

Abstract

The excavations the Germans launched in 1899 in Hillah should be of great use to the scholarship on the late Ottoman archaeology/museology, its perceptions of antiquities, and the missionary undertakings of European archaeologists across the Empire domains. Indeed, the accounts of Robert Koldewey, the excavation leader, and Walter Andrae, his assistant, as well as of several other members of the team, are bursting with details, so to speak, of a kind that is perspective-shifting and have yet to be appreciated in any reception work to date. Blending these with the relevant records from the Ottoman Imperial Archives, we acquire a uniquely complementary Babylon Case, of which this essay aims to provide an in-depth presentation. Key to such an effort will be four main aspects, namely the performance of Ottoman supervision, what became of the artefacts unearthed, the Germans’ perceptions of Ottoman institutions and locals and vice-versa, and finally, the role Turkish-German politics played in shaping the course of the excavations.