The Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean are one of the most politically charged regions in which archaeology is implicated. Historically, they played a formative role in the birth of archaeology as a discipline. " Archaeology Under Fire" addresses archaeology's role in current political issues, as in the ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, the division of Cyprus, or the continued destruction of Beirut. The contributors consider the positive role of the past, as a means of reconciliation, whether it be in Turkey, Israel, or the Gulf. They advocate a responsible global archaeology and awareness of contemporary issues can only enhance this aim. Contributors include: Ann Macy Roth, Neil Silberman, Zainab Bahraini, A. Bernard Knapp, Keith Brown, Kostas Kotsakis, Mehment Ozdogan, Ian Hodder, Albert Naccache, Fekri Hassan and Daniel Potts.

List of illustrations, List of contributors, Introduction: Archaeology matters, 1 Archaeology, politics and the cultural heritage of Cyprus, 2 The past is ours: images of Greek Macedonia, 3 Contests of heritage and the politics of preservation in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 4 Bulgarian archaeology: ideology, sociopolitics and the exotic, 5 Ideology and archaeology in Turkey, 6 The past as passion and play: Çatalhöyük as a site of conflict in the construction of multiple pasts, 7 Beirut's memorycide: hear no evil, see no evil, 8 Conjuring Mesopotamia: imaginative geography and a world past, 9 Whose game is it anyway? The political and social transformations of American Biblical Archaeology Neil Asher, 10 The Gulf Arab states and their archaeology, 11 Memorabilia: archaeological materiality and national identity in Egypt, 12 Ancient Egypt in America: claiming the riches, Index