Popular Receptions of Archaeology

Abstract

Popular archaeology is a heterogeneous phenomenon: Focusing on the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, Egyptian mummies, and the ruin complex Great Zimbabwe in fictional and factual texts, Susanne Duesterberg analyses the popular reception of archaeology in Victorian and Edwardian Britain. She offers an interdisciplinary and comparative view on the reception of the different archaeologies, reflecting contemporary sociocultural concerns in connection with identity formation. With its focus on popular culture as well as identity and memory studies, the book appeals to both a general public and experts from various disciplines.