Archaeology as a Weapon: Long-lasting legacies of colonialism and nationalism in Israel, Palestine, Cyprus and Greece

In Israel, Palestine, Cyprus and Greece, the reconstruction of the past through archaeology has been used to strengthen national identity. Narratives about the past and origin myths have been constructed for political purposes. Cyprus and Palestine have both suffered from British colonialism since the early twentieth century, which has had a profound influence on their cultural heritage. Through nationalism, archaeology has been exploited by far-right movements and political parties to claim ownership of heritage and has become an efficient political tool.
In Israel, archaeology and religion have been exploited to construct the Israeli state and still play a crucial role. The country claims to be the conqueror of Palestine under the protection of God, who they believe gave them possession of the land. Western religious groups are convinced that it is the religious duty of Christians ... to support the modern nation-state of Israel. Biblical archaeology has become an ultra-religious American speciality, marked by fraud and pseudoresearch. Notorious smuggling scandals were staged by American Christian multibillionaires buying artefacts looted from the National Museum of Iraq and other countries.
Looting, plundering and blacklisting are among the most serious problems in Cyprus, causing irreparable damage to artefacts, monuments and society. Palestine’s rich archaeological, historical, and religious heritage has been undermined by occupation and land confiscation. Hundreds of sites have been looted during the Israeli occupation, and an illegal trade of ancient artefacts has occurred on a large scale.
Populism is frequently associated with extreme nationalism and racism. Over the past few years, white nationalists and supremacists have seized the history of Greece and Rome. White nationalists and neo-Nazis in the US have used the slogan “Classics Made Great Again” showing their obsession with ancient sculptures and their alleged whiteness. When visiting Jerusalem, the Trump administration promoted an evangelical program where the politics of moral superiority is associated with white Christian supremacy.  Show more

Marie-Louise Winbladh was the Senior Curator of the famous Cyprus Collections in Stockholm at the Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities from 1971-2007. The Cyprus Collections are the largest and most important collections in the world outside Cyprus. The Swedish Cyprus Expedition (SCE) excavated throughout Cyprus between 1927 and 1931 and the total number of finds from the excavations was ca. 18,000. The number received by the Swedes in 1931 was about 12,000, or 65%. Winbladh produced exhibitions and organized the work in the storerooms with the many precious antiquities housed ... in the museum. She has also written several books (popular and scholar), given lectures, and performed many other tasks. Her books deal with archaeology, history and religion on Cyprus and Crete during antiquity. Winbladh has studied the archaeology, history, culture and politics of Greece and Cyprus for 30 years. Moreover, she has been working in both countries as an archaeologist, and speaks Greek fluently, which has given her useful contacts and information. Now Winbladh is a writer and independent researcher. Since 1974, she has been a member of the joint Danish-Greek-Swedish excavations in Chaniá, Crete, publishing groups of finds. These excavations have been mentioned by scholars as one of the most important projects of the last century, with unique finds. For the last few years, she has also been involved with the archaeology and politics of Israel/Palestine and has written several articles on the subject (mostly Swedish).  Show more

Archaeology and imperialism, nationalist archaeology, crypto-colonization and archaeology, politics of archaeology, struggle against British supremacy, racial and cultural superiority over colonised countries, archaeology and myths, racial superiority, reconstruction of the past, religion, artificial historical narratives, populism, politics and archaeology, political far right, glorification of ancient Greece, supremacy of Classical civilization, Classical past and white supremacy, Macedonia and Hellenism, Heritage spectacles, cultural superiority, classical whiteness and racial superiority, white supremacists, xenophobes and anti-Semites use symbols of the Classical world, white marble and moral purity, Classical white marbles were coloured, Classical past to support militant politics, Mycenaean colonization narrative, Hellenist nationalism in Cyprus.

Cultural heritage victim of conflicts, cultural heritage of Northern Cyprus in danger, cultural heritage and international trade in drugs, a plundered past, international trafficking of artefacts, trade of illicit antiquities, plundering and trading of antiquities, looting and blacklisting, blacklisting of archaeologists,

Archaeology used to construct the Israeli state, Israel a settler nation, politicization of archaeology in Israel, Israeli archaeology has nationalistic agenda, Israel’s militarization of archaeology, fundamentalist biblical archaeologists, fanatical right-wing settler organisations, archaeology and the bible, archaeology and the biblical narrative, American Christians support Zionism, Israeli archaeology criticized by UNESCO, the Myth of Masada, no Exodus from Egypt, Israelites did not conquer Canaan, story of biblical David an “extraordinary fiction”, Hobby Lobby smuggling scandal, artefacts looted from Iraq, Arab-Muslim world defined as barbaric, threatening western civilization, “Judeo-Christian”, Islamic 'Other, “City of David”, Moshe Dayan accused of robbing antiquities.
Artificial division of Palestinian territories, Israeli military manage cultural heritage in Palestine, great damage in Palestine from bombing on archaeological and historical sites, hundreds of thousands of archaeological artefacts transferred from Palestinian territories to Israel, Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem damaged in 2002, Old City of Nablus destroyed by Israeli military,
Gaza at the crossroads of civilizations, sites threatened during bombing campaigns, museums in Gaza destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in 2023, damage to heritage sites across Gaza, destruction of mosques and the historic centre of Gaza, destruction of Monastery of Saint Hilarion constructed over 1,600 years ago, Israel’s army destroyed the Great Mosque of Gaza
Archaeogenetic research and archaeology, scientific study of DNA, archaeogenetics, genetics prove the origin of a population group, genetic markers, ancient DNA and politics, ancestry and aDNA, genetics and propaganda, genetic similarities between Greek/Turkish-speaking Cypriots, Palestinians blood brothers of the modern-day Israelis, Arabs and Jews are closely related, most Arab and Jewish groups in the region have inherited most of their DNA from Canaanites and others, Greek ancestors of the Philistines migrated across the Mediterranean, DNA misinterpreted and abused by the political right, ethnicity and genetics not identical, Jewish populations share a common Middle Eastern origin.