6533b853fe1ef96bd12ac961

RESEARCH PRODUCT

L’archéologue classique aux prises avec le monde diplomatique. Le cas de Salomon Reinach en 1881

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Classical Archeology Clashing with the World of Diplomacy: the Case of Salomon Reinach in 1881 Studies on the ties between archeology and diplomacy focus mostly on the way a few individuals reconciled a double career and realized the ideal of a hybrid figure: the diplomat as archeologist. Less attention has been paid to the relations, on a daily basis, between classical archeology and the world of consulates and embassies in the Eastern Mediterranean. Most of the time, one relies on the widespread cliché of the archeologist as a victim of bureaucracy. The case studied here is that of Salomon Reinach (1858-1932) and his abundant correspondence, held by the bibliothèque Méjanes (Aix-en-Provence). After directing an excavation site in Myrina together with his friend Pottier, Reinach alone directed the excavation of the necropolis during part of the year 1881, while excavating the neighboring site of Kyme. He had to solve many issues, such as obtaining a firman, the division of findings, and the question of their transfer, which put the young archeologist in contact with the services of the French embassy in Constantinople –headed by Charles-Joseph Tissot– and the consulate in Smyrna. This archeological adventure in the land of the Ottomans took place within a specific diplomatic context: that of the military conquest of Tunisia by the French troops.