Review of Early Islamic Syria by Alan Walmsley.
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- A. Asa Eger, Full Professor (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Abstract: The field of Islamic archaeology over the last thirty
years has come into its own, largely as a subfield of Near
Eastern archaeology. In the last decade alone, there
has been a sharp increase in the number of excavations
targeting Islamic sites or Islamic occupations overlaying
other sites, more surveys by Islamic specialists,
and special sessions in major archaeology conferences
(such as ICAANE and ASOR). From all this research
there is now a sizeable body of publications. However,
with such rapid growth comes the need to define the
field (not only as a subfield of Islamic history or art
history), to establish theoretical and methodological
parameters, and to present a set of challenges for investigative
inquiry. Further, insights offered by recent
research in the field of Islamic archaeology should be
accessible to students and non-specialists alike. These
criteria have all been met by Alan Walmsley’s recent
Early Islamic Syria, a volume in the Duckworth Debates
in Archaeology series. This volume has a narrow
focus: the area of Syria-Palestine (including also
Lebanon, Jordan, and part of southeastern Turkey)
from the seventh to tenth centuries. Yet, within this
focus, Walmsley charts the development of Islamic
archaeology, and places it within a framework of important
debated issues, such as seventh century or
Abbasid decline, the use and interpretation of material
culture, and the underdeveloped study of rural
landscapes. These issues have trailed the discipline
from its very inception. The author’s approach is advantageous
as the book is neither a review nor a general
survey of the field. Walmsley gathers most of the
previous research in the field of Islamic archaeology
and confronts the debates headlong with a steady, yet
comprehensive and positivist momentum, resolving
most issues, elaborating on others, and constructing
newer ones. Further, Walmsley increases the relevance
of Islamic archaeology by charging it with an implicit
obligation to correct contemporary misconceptions
of Islam in Western culture.
Review of Early Islamic Syria by Alan Walmsley.
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Created on 5/7/2013
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Language: English
- Date: 2011
- Keywords
- archaeology, book reviews, Islamic Syria, Islamic archaeology, archaeological assessment