Session: #669

Content:

The various contexts of the Ottoman Empire span over 600 years and range from the Middle East to North Africa, Eastern and Southern Europe. While the same terminology is used for all regions, the impact of imperial influence among the various provinces is quite distinct, although differences and special characteristics emerge even within the same geographical or modern political units.

Although the field of Ottoman Studies and its focus on textual evidence comprises a well-established discipline, the archaeological investigation of the period is a recent development –grosso modo from the turn of the 20th century. Archaeological surveys, excavation projects and the study of relevant aspects of material culture developed recently as an outcome of systematic regional field projects in the Mediterranean but also from the postcolonial shift that rendered value to the ‘local’ or ‘indigenous’ archaeologies of the post-medieval era. Furthermore, the combination of archival research and archaeological methodologies have produced a rich databank that contributes to debates in both disciplines, History and Archaeology.

This Session invites contributions assessing results emerging from the Ottoman-era/Historical Archaeology of Eastern and Southern Europe and the coastal areas of Turkey and the Levant. We focus on a broader methodological framework, from the intersections of Archaeology, Anthropology and Ethnography to material culture studies and the analyses of organic remains, as well as from approaches to natural and cultural landscapes, rural economy and daily life. Beyond addressing a specific subject, site or micro-region, we strongly encourage contributors to reflect on the broader imperial or disciplinary framework, placing their case-studies within a larger context to promote interdisciplinary and trans-border discussions and wider syntheses.

Session: #669

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