The French archaeological mission in Mari: From colonial venture to French science diplomacy in Syria (1933-1974)

This case study appears in: Mays C, Laborie L, Griset P (eds) (2022) Inventing a shared science diplomacy for Europe: Interdisciplinary case studies to think with history.

One of the legendary cities of Ancient Mesopotamia, Mari was a seat of major power for centuries in the third and second millennia before our era. The Mission archéologique française à Mari was formed in 1934 following an exceptional set of discoveries on the site of Tell Hariri. Over the course of 75 years, 47 excavation seasons were organized by various French institutions. Three generations of archaeologists have worked on the Mari site in this marginal region of Syria, near the border with Iraq, in completely different (geo)political and practical contexts. The evolution of the archaeological project, especially from 1933 to 1974, offers a striking example of how Near Eastern archaeology was transformed from a typical imperial “adventure”, widely celebrated by the media, into a heritage management project, based upon a fruitful collaboration between Syrian institutions and an increasingly internationalized team, still under French leadership, with the active support of the French Foreign Office. The case study recounts this story, offering a glimpse of how science diplomacy can be said both to shape and result from this gradual transformation.One of the legendary cities of Ancient Mesopotamia, Mari was a seat of major power for centuries in the third and second millennia before our era. The Mission archéologique française à Mari was formed in 1934 following an exceptional set of discoveries on the site of Tell Hariri. Over the course of 75 years, 47 excavation seasons were organized by various French institutions. Three generations of archaeologists have worked on the Mari site in this marginal region of Syria, near the border with Iraq, in completely different (geo)political and practical contexts. The evolution of the archaeological project, especially from 1933 to 1974, offers a striking example of how Near Eastern archaeology was transformed from a typical imperial “adventure”, widely celebrated by the media, into a heritage management project, based upon a fruitful collaboration between Syrian institutions and an increasingly internationalized team, still under French leadership, with the active support of the French Foreign Office. The case study recounts this story, offering a glimpse of how science diplomacy can be said both to shape and result from this gradual transformation.