From the main title and cover illustration of this paperback edition, a painting depicting
Saddam Hussein and various images of ancient Babylon in the style of a propagandist
wallpainting, the reader might well be led to expect a volume concentrating on the
destruction and looting of archaeological remains in the event of armed conflict. The sub-
heading, however, makes clear that the emphasis lies more with the relationship between
the practice of archaeology and the wider political context in which it is taking place with the …

This volume, although focused on the Old World, raises a variety of issues of relevance to all
archaeologists. The authors examine areas as diverse as postcommunist Yugoslavia and
postwar Lebanon, examining how possession of the distant past (including rights over the
restoration of ancient structures) often enflames local passions as well as figuring into the
construction of ethnic and/or national identity. Unfortunately, many of the articles are jargon-
laden and unwieldy, but several stand out for their succinct and well-written examination of …