Writers on Ruins: An ‘Anthology of Archaeological Travel Writing’
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 07.25.06 | 5:31 PM ET
Most contemporary travel writing focuses on the here and now, with only brief glimpses back. But recently, Oxford University Press published a collection of travel stories about visits to ruins entitled From Stonehenge to Samarkand: An Anthropology of Archaeological Travel Writing. The book features old and relatively new stories by such writers as Tom Bissell (a World Hum contributor), Paul Theroux, Robert Byron and Mark Twain. The New York Times called it a “smart” collection, and the Washington Times declared it “an admirably well-produced survey of the personalities and accomplishments of those pioneering people eager to recapture past relics of human history.”
The book’s editor, Brian Fagan, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, writes about the book’s genesis and focus in the Oxford University Press weblog. Perhaps most interestingly, he also reflects on how archaeological travel has changed over the years, and not always for the better.
Just last year I accompanied a tour to the Roman city of Ephesus in Turkey. We shuffled down the main street in dense groups, each with our own guide, each waiting for the group in front of us to move on. At Angkor Wat, a sacred complex on a scale that beggars the imagination, there are few facilities for visitors—the Cambodian government cannot afford them. The already-worn temple steps are slippery smooth from thousands of visitors a day, the magnificent friezes worn shiny by generations of massaging hands. Instead of exhilaration, I came away feeling deeply depressed. Yes, the Parthenon is still magnificent to behold, Machu Picchu high in the Andes remains an unforgettable place, but much of the magic is gone now that cultural tourism with its cruise ships, jumbo jets, and diesel buses has become a booming international business.
The Parthenon, Valley of the Kings, Stonehenge, Ephesus and several other major ruins are now on Fagan’s “sites to avoid” list because of crowds. But plenty of other ruins “still intoxicate” him, he writes, including:
Avebury (only a few miles from Stonehenge, where you can walk through the stone circles), Hadrian’s Wall, Palmyra in Syria and Petra in Jordan, Olympia in Greece, site of the original Games (an expansive field of ruins that is strangely moving), the amphitheater at Epidauros, also in Greece (in spring and fall, a place where the acoustics enchant), Chaco Canyon in New Mexico (which is truly spectacular), Ta Proem, a Khmer temple near Angkor Wat (where serpentine tree roots envelop the ruins in a romantic frenzy), the brooding moiae of Easter Island, massive ancestral statues that ring the coast, the huge city of Teotihuacán on the edge of the Valley of Mexico (much visited, but large enough to swallow crowds and a brilliant statement of ideological and supernatural power that humbles you) and, finally, well off the beaten track, the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar on the Orkney Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean north of Scotland, where you will step into the heart of a deeply evocative ancient landscape.
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Jim Benning is the editor and co-founder of World Hum.
TambourineMan 07.26.06 | 1:12 AM ET
I don’t mean to be insulting, but you guys at worldhum are good salesmen. I’m putting this book on my to-buy list as well.
marilyn terrell 07.26.06 | 7:54 AM ET
You might also check out the new book “Worlds to Explore,” a collection of great travel and adventure writing from the very earliest pages of National Geographic magazine: Eliza Scidmore reporting from earthquake-ravaged Japan in 1896, Tolstoy’s grandson meeting the boy Dalai Lama in Tibet, botanist Joseph Rock caravaning through China, 22-yr-old Thor Heyerdahl rafting across the South Pacific, Maynard Owen Williams at the opening of the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1923, and lots more great stuff. Intro by Simon Winchester.
Larry Portzline 07.26.06 | 9:45 AM ET
Fagan makes an excellent point about the downside of cultural tourism. I’m wondering how much of a backlash there’s been regarding the effect of crowds, buses, etc. I know environmentally-conscious folks have expressed concerns, but has there been a response from the travel industry or at least some sort of public conversation about it? Cultural tourism is a wonderful thing, but only if it’s not spoiling the culture that it’s trying to promote. As someone who’s involved in cultural tourism, I wonder how unconsciously duplicitous it is for me to put tourists on a bus and take them to a specific locale. I’d love to hear people’s thoughts on this if anyone cares to respond. It does concern me. Thanks.
Jim Benning 07.26.06 | 12:34 PM ET
Hey Mr. TambourineMan, read that book for me. (Sorry; couldn’t resist.)
Thanks for the book tip, Marilyn. I’ll be sure to check it out—it sounds like it’s worth a mention on the weblog, too.
And Larry, I know that Ron Mader at Planeta.com has been trying to bring attention to environmental issues around travel and has organized online dialogues focusing on specific topics. It’s a big issue and more needs to be done, especially in developing countries where few are willing to turn away paying customers.
As for your work organizing indie bookstore tours, that makes you a saint in my book, but I understand your concerns about that, too. It’s all in the execution, I imagine.
Larry Portzline 07.26.06 | 12:37 PM ET
Thanks for the compliment, Jim. It’s definitely something I need to consider. And I’ll check out the site. Thanks!
Tom Garrahan 07.26.06 | 2:14 PM ET
Too bad for Fagan’s experience at Angkor Wat. I was just there at the time of the Khmer New Year (April). What I saw was lots of locals and awesome temples. The carvings were remarkably clear and detailed - not worn.
Brian Fagan 07.29.06 | 3:13 PM ET
Larry Portzeline has raised a vitally important issue about cultural tourism and archaeology. The world’s major sites are being loved to death and the debate about how to protect them has hardly begun, although obviously there has been sporadic debate for many years going right back to Victorian times. There are no easy answers. Does one build replicas (like the Lascaux and Altamira caves), which is a hideously expensive option, allow people only to see the sites from a distance, like Stonehengr, or allow free access, like Angkor Wat. No one has any easy answers to what is likely to be one of the great controversies of cultural tourism in the future. One partial solution, which is being tried at some sites, is to lay modern pathways over key areas and to keep people to standard itineraries. But what about places like the Valley of the Kings in Egypt? I suspect the authorities will have to close all the tombs and build replicas in the future, but who is going to pay for it in a world where archaeology and cultural tourism is a mainstay of national economies and one of the fastest growing businesses in the world? I admire Larry for his ethical concerns, which are rare among thos ein the business, and only wish I had solutions.
I’m happy for Tom Garrahan that he saw unworn reliefs at Angkor Wat, but he must have been in different parts of the temples to me. The polish and wear was appalling in many places—although much of the detail is still clear—but I am a trained eye… I’ll take another look when I go again next year.