Comics and Archaeology

Dr Zena Kamash FSA is a British Iraqi archaeologist and Senior Lecturer in Roman Archaeology and Art in the Department of Classics, Royal Holloway University of London, UK. She is an expert on the heritage and archaeology of the Middle East and Britain. Her current research focuses on crafting, heritage and healing in post-conflict Syria and Iraq. Dr Katy Soar is a Senior Lecturer in Classical Archaeology at the University of Winchester, UK. Her main areas of research are Greek Archaeology, particularly the Bronze Age Aegean, and the history and reception of archaeology. Her current research focuses on depictions of Knossos on historical postcards and on the representation of antiquity in folk horror. Dr Leen Van Broeck is Honorary Research Associate in the Department of Classics at Royal Holloway University of London, UK, after completing a PhD on Tacitus there in 2018. She has taught undergraduate classicists and ancient historians on methods and approaches to (ancient) history and co-convened the Oxford Comics Network seminar series at the University of Oxford from 2019 to 2021.

• Introduction: Why Comics and Archaeology?.- ‘The Aliens from 2,000 B.C.!’: Truth, Fiction and Pseudoarchaeology in American Comic Books.- Panels from the South Seas: Pacific Colonialism, Archaeology, and Pseudoscience in Francophone Bande Dessinée.- Making Sargon Great Again: Reuse and Reappropriation of Ancient Mesopotamian Imagery in Fan-Art of the Online Right.- Creating Comics for Public Engagement in Roman Aeclanum: Illustrating Ancient History.- “Mix, Mould, Fire!”: Comic Art and Educational Outreach Inspired by Archaeology.- “They Do Things Differently There”: Articulating the Unfamiliar Past in Community Heritage Comics.

“A central tenet of the volume is that both comics and archaeology are political. … Being the author and illustrator of numerous archaeology comics, John G. Swogger shows with the aid of strip comic format … archaeologists should promote the community’s feedback and hands-on participation. To prevent community history and preservation from being eclipsed by one-sided portrayals, localized communities should be involved in creating content for comics.” (Johannes H. N. Loubser, AMERICAN ANTIQUITY, June 29, 2023)