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Fire on the desert: conflict archaeology and the Great Arab Revolt in Jordan, 1916–18

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Nicholas J. Saunders
Affiliation:
*Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Bristol, 43 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UU, UK (Email: nicholas.saunders@bristol.ac.uk; neil.faulkner@bristol.ac.uk)
Neil Faulkner
Affiliation:
*Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Bristol, 43 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UU, UK (Email: nicholas.saunders@bristol.ac.uk; neil.faulkner@bristol.ac.uk)

Abstract

Archaeologists specialising in twentieth-century conflict here turn their attention from the trenches of Europe to the desert landscape of the Arabian theatre. The thrust and parry between the Ottoman Army and Lawrence's Arabian forces are reflected in defence-works and the outgoing and incoming bullets found there. The Ottoman generals changed their defences from long lines to redoubts, implying that the less visible guerrillas were having a palpable effect on strategy. Here, archaeology amplifies and enhances the story told in T.E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

Type
Research articles
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2010

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