“Gods, Graves & Scholars: A Story of Archaeology”, by C.W. Ceram

 

576 pages, Vintage, ISBN-13: 978-0394743196

Hey, ya ever hear of a guy named Kurt Wilhelm Marek? No? Can’t say as I blame you, considering he was a propagandist for the Third Reich who wrote such illuminating and groundbreaking pieces like Wir hielten Narvik, Rote Spiegel überall am Feind and the ever-popular Von den Kanonieren des Reichsmarschalls. Riveting stuff, I’m sure. You may, however, have heard of someone named C.W. Ceram (“Ceram” being “Marek” spelled backwards with a latinized “C” in place of the Germanic “K”) who wrote the brilliant Gods, Graves & Scholars: A Story of Archaeology, a book – hell, THE book – that introduced the general reading public to the origin and development of archaeology. Yours truly, included.

And it remains in print today. GG&S tries to be all-inclusive in that it covers Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Greek archaeology, along with Mexican, Central American and South American finds while also giving thumbnail sketches of pioneering archaeologists such as Heinrich Schliemann, Jean-François Champollion, Paul-Émile Botta and Howard Carter, along with many others. Although originally published in 1949 and in spite of the vast accumulation of information in the decades since (particularly in the Americas), GG&S remains an excellent starting point for anyone with even the remotest interest in archaeology, giving as it does a concise but inclusive account of most of the ancient cultures known today.

Being a popular history, many details of cultures and peoples are rather glossed over; however, this in no way detracts from the quality of the writing (or the translation, for that matter) or the depth of the research involved. This book is an appetizer for the intellectual gourmand, a wetting of the appetite that hopefully induces the reader to gorge themselves on the history of this subject. There are, no doubt, other, more detailed and all-encompassing books have come out in the 70+ years since GG&S was first published – especially those that are dedicated specifically to one culture or another – but you could do worse than by starting with GG&S and expanding your search henceforth to include other works.

Between Gods, Graves & Scholars and Raiders of the Lost Ark, I have no doubt that many a young man (and young woman, I suppose) leapt at the chance to become an archaeologist and to explore the world and uncover artifacts and fight Nazis…and while they may have been disappointed at the lack of action and gunplay, I trust they found fulfillment in exploration and discovery.