Digging Politics: The Ancient Past and Contested Present in East-Central Europe

368 Pages·2023·3.453 MB·English

by  James Koranyi & Emily Hanscam (eds)

DiggingPolitics

Digging Politics
The Ancient Past and Contested Present in
East-Central Europe
Edited by
James Koranyi and Emily Hanscam
ISBN978-3-11-069733-9
e-ISBN(PDF)978-3-11-069744-5
e-ISBN(EPUB)978-3-11-069754-4
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2022941455
BibliographicinformationpublishedbytheDeutscheNationalbibliothek
TheDeutscheNationalbibliothekliststhispublicationintheDeutscheNationalbibliografie;
detailedbibliographicdataareavailableontheinternetathttp://dnb.dnb.de.
©2023WalterdeGruyterGmbH,Berlin/Boston
Coverimage:TherocksculptureofDecebaluslocatednearthecityofOrsova,
byAttilaBarsan,GettyImages.
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ToourcolleaguesinUkraine,andtoscholarseverywherewhoareconstrained
bychauvinistclaimstothepast.

Contents
ListofContributors IX
EmilyHanscamandJamesKoranyi
DiggingPolitics:TheAncientPastandContestedPresent 1
BogdanC.Iacob
BalkanAntiquityasDecolonialEurocentrismDuringtheColdWar 17
Florian-JanOstrowski
ThracianArchaeologyandNationalIdentityinCommunistBulgaria:
TheIdeologicalPatternofMuseumExhibitions 45
ChristophDoppelhofer
ImaginingKing’sLanding:Dubrovnik,theDiegeticHeritageofGame
ofThrones,andtheImperialismofPopularCulture 77
AnneKluger
SlavicArchaeologyas“ASpecialObligation”?ResearchingtheEarly
SlavsinCommunistPolandandEastGermany 107
MatthiasE.Cichon
AlliesoutofAshes?PolishIdeasfortheRefoundingofMedievalWestern
SlavicStatesafter1945 131
MelindaHarlov-Csortán
RomanHeritageinHungary:TheCaseoftheFertőrákosMithraeumon
theIronCurtain 157
KatrinKremmler
‘EurasianMagyars’:TheMakingofaNewHegemonicNationalPrehistory
inIlliberalHungary 181
RaduCinpoeș
BeyondRadicalRightPolitics:LGBTQ+RightsinHungaryand
Romania 217
VIII Contents
ClaudiaSpiridon-Șerbu
TheProtochronisticDepictionoftheTransylvanianSaxonsinNicolae
Ceaușescu’sHistoryTextbooks(1976–1989) 241
AlexanderRubel
DacianBlood:AutochthonousDiscourseinRomaniaduringtheInterwar
Period 257
GheorgheAlexandruNiculescu
WhyNationalismSurvivesinRomanianArchaeologyandWhatCould
LimititsImpact 287
EmilyHanscam
ArchaeologyandtheChallengeofContinuity:East-CentralEuropeduring
theAgeofMigrations 307
Index 347
List of Contributors
MatthiasE.CichonisaPhDcandidateattheUniversityofMünster(Germany).Inhisthesis
‘PolandandtheSlavicIdea,1918–1948’,heexaminestheimaginationof‘Slavdom’in
interwarandearlypost-warPoland,analysinghowreferencestotheallegedcommunityof
(all)Slavicpeoplehelpedpushpolitical,cultural,andscientificagendas.Hisfurtherresearch
interestsincludeGerman-Polishrelationsinthetwentiethcentury,ethnicminoritiesinEast-
CentralEuropeaswellasthehistoryofChristianOrthodoxyinPolandafter1918.
RaduCinpoeșisAssociateProfessorinPolitics,HumanRightsandInternationalRelationsat
KingstonUniversity,London.Growingoutofhisinterestinnationalismandthepoliticsof
exclusion,hisresearchhasrecentlyfocusedontwocomplementarydirections:migration,
mobilityandrefugeeissues,ontheonehand,andissuesconcerningdiscriminationand
intolerance,ontheother.Hehaspublishedontheextremeright,nationalism,European
identityandRomanianpolitics.Hiscurrentresearchprojectinvestigatesagentialreflexive
mediationofstructuralconditioningsandtheroleofsocialnetworksinthecontextof
transnationalmobility.
ChristophDoppelhofercompletedaLeverhulmefundedPhDinVisualCultureatDurham
University.Inhisdoctoralthesis‘TravelsfromWinterfelltoKing’sLanding’(2017–2022),he
examinedtheimpactofthediegeticworldoftheHBOfantasyseriesGameofThronesonthe
heritagelandscapesofitsfilminglocations.HeisavisitinglecturerforDurhamUniversity’s
MAinInternationalCulturalHeritageManagement,andhasworkedwithinthearchaeological,
museum,andtravelsector.Hisresearchinterestsinclude(visual)representationsandusesof
thepastincontemporarysocial,cultural,andpoliticaldiscourses,theimpactofpop-culture
and(digital)mass-mediaonheritage,andheritageinconflict.
EmilyHanscamisaResearcherinArchaeologyatLinnaeusUniversity,Sweden,associatedwith
theUNESCOChairforHeritageFutures,theLNUCentreforConcurrences,andLNUDigital
Transformations.SheearnedaPhDinArchaeologyfromDurhamUniversity(2019),researching
Romanfrontiers,archaeology,andnationalisminEast-CentralEurope.Shewaspreviouslya
LecturerinArchaeologyfortheUniversityofAmsterdamandProjectManagerforArchaeologyat
Halmyris,aninternationalvolunteerexcavationprojectinRomania.Herresearchfocusesonthe
politicsofthepast,criticalheritagestudies,andthereceptionoftheRomanpast.
MelindaHarlov-CsortánisanassistantprofessoratAporVilmosCatholicCollegeinVác,
Hungary.Herresearchinterestsincludeheritagestudies,publicspaceresearch,culturaland
socialhistoryofthetwentiethcentury,identityandrepresentation.HerPhDresearchfocusedon
theestablishmentofUNESCOWorldHeritagesitesinHungary.ShehaspublishedinEnglish,
HungarianandGerman.
BogdanC.IacobisaresearcherattheNicolaeIorgaInstituteofHistoryinBucharest(Romanian
Academy).HisworkfocusesonthestudyofEast-CentralandSouth-EasternEuropeanexperts
(historiansanddoctors)inglobalcontexts.Heco-authored1989.AGlobalHistoryofEastern
Europe(CambridgeUniversityPress2019),andauthored“SoutheastbyGlobalSouth:Balkans,
UNESCOandtheColdWar”inJamesMarketal.(ed.)AlternativeGlobalizationsandthe
PostcolonialWorld(IndianaUniversityPress,2020).Arecentpaperincludes“TogetherbutApart:
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110697445-203
X ListofContributors
BalkanHistorians,theGlobalSouth,andUNESCO’sHistoryofHumanity1978–1989”,published
inEastCentralEurope(2018).
AnneKlugerisadoctoralresearcherattheDepartmentofEasternEuropeanHistoryatthe
UniversityofMünster,Germany.Inherdoctoralthesis,sheexaminestheso-called‘Slavic
Archaeology’inpost-warEastGermanyandPoland,withspecificattentiontothe
entanglementsofresearchontheSlavsoftheprehistoricandEarlyMedievalperiodswithin
thecontextofstatesocialism.Herresearchinterestsincludethehistoryofarchaeologyand
historiography,thehistoryofthereceptionanddifferentimagesof‘theSlavs’,aswellas
German-Polishrelationsinthetwentiethcentury.
JamesKoranyiisAssociateProfessorinModernCulturalEuropeanHistoryatDurham
University.HeisaculturalhistorianofEast-CentralEuropeandiscommittedtoplacing
modernEast-CentralEuropeanhistoryinbroaderglobaldebates.Hehaspublishedon
GermanminoritiesofEast-CentralEurope,memoryculturesintheregionandtravelwritingon
theCarpathians.Hisbook,MigratingMemories:RomanianGermansinModernEurope,was
publishedwithCambridgeUniversityPressandtracesstoriesandmemoriesofRomanian
GermansanchoredinatransnationalEuropeanhistory.
KatrinKremmlerisaPhDcandidateattheInstituteforEuropeanEthnology,Humboldt
UniversityBerlin,whereshestartedherPhDthesisonHungarianfringeextremismin2015,to
finishitaboutHungarianmainstreampoliticsin2022.Herresearchfocusesonthe
entanglementsofinterwarracialanthropologyinEast-CentralEuropewithcolonial-imperial
knowledgepractices.Currently,sheispreparingaHungarypieceforthesectionCultureWars
inEuropeandEurasiaforIlliberalism.org;astudyontheNaturalHistoryMuseumVienna’s
skullcollection,andcontributionsforthevolumesHistoricizingWhitenessinEasternEurope
andRussiaandtheRoutledgeHandbookonSexualityinCentral-EasternEurope.
GheorgheAlexandruNiculescuwaseducatedattheUniversityofBucharest(1974–1978)and
hasbeenaseniorresearcherattheVasilePârvanInstituteofArchaeologysince1985.Hehas
taughtancienthistoryandarchaeologicaltheoryattheUniversityofBucharest,aswellas
publishingonancientethnicphenomena,theimpactofnationalismonarchaeological
research,andthepoliticsofculturalheritageinRomania.Heiscurrentlyworkingonthe
globalasymmetriesofarchaeologicalresearch,onthepropertiesoftypologicalthinking,and
onwhatvirtueepistemologymightbringtotheunderstandingofarchaeologicalresearch
traditions.
Florian-JanOstrowskiisaPhDcandidateandscientificemployeeattheInstituteofHistoryat
theUniversityofVienna,hehaspreviouslyalsostudiedprehistoryandhistoricalarchaeology.
HisPhDthesisisabouttherelationshipbetweenarchaeologyandthepublicthroughmedia.
Hisgeneralresearchinterestsincludematerialculture,thehistoryofarchaeology,East-
CentralEurope,andheavymetalmusic.
AlexanderRubel,M.A.PhD,ancienthistorianandarchaeologist,hasasecondPhDinGerman
Studies,andhasbeendirectoroftheInstituteofArchaeologyinIașisince2011.Hisacademic
writingsincludeculturalhistoryandliterarystudiesbutfocusmainlyonancienthistoryand
religionaswellasonRomanarchaeology,geographicallycentredonthefringesoftheEmpire
andthe‘barbarian’peoplewholivedthere.HehadbeenvisitingprofessorattheUniversityof
ErlangenandvisitingseniorresearchfellowatJesusCollege,Oxford.Heistheauthorof:Fear