Decolonizing the Archaeological Photograph: Photography of the Commission des Monuments Historiques de l'Algérie, 1880-1910

Abstract

This thesis is a sort of “excavation” of the archaeological photograph. Although increasingly research is being done on classical archaeology’s colonial history and its implications for the discipline, much less has been written on the role photography plays in creating, upholding, and perpetuating colonial beliefs. Using photographs of Timgad produced by the Commission des Monuments Historiques de l’Algérie approximately between 1880-1910, this thesis examines the historical and visual factors that contribute to the meaning of an archaeological photograph and our belief in its relative objectivity, as well as the resulting political and epistemological consequences. It argues that these photographs are instruments of imperial dominance which function to lay claim to the monuments they depict and the history that they represent. This thesis traces the transformation of these monuments from archaeological material into historic sites both physically, through their restoration, and categorically, through their inclusion in the Commission des Monuments Historiques archive.