8 December 2022

Tijdschrift voor Mediterrane Archeologie (TMA) invites beginning and senior scholars to submit abstracts for an article in its 70th issue on ‘Pseudo-archaeology and fraud in archaeology’.

Claims about the past based non-scientific reasoning are everywhere, from television and movies, to conversations at birthday parties. Some seem plausible (e.g. Romulus’ Hut, archaeoastronomy), others are bizarre (pyramids in Bosnia, Atlantis). They are mainly made by non-archaeologists, but not exclusively. Additionally, archaeology has seen examples of fraud, including deliberate manipulation and falsification of archaeological and historical data to support a particular thesis. Such forgeries are often difficult to prove (e.g. the Veleia graffiti) and can lead to heated discussions among experts (see recently the hieroglyphic inscriptions of James Mellaart). Fraud is also strongly linked to forgeries in the antique art trade.

Fraud and (pseudoarchaeological) fictions in archaeology raise questions about ethics, the limits of science and public outreach. Sooner or later, everyone has to deal with it. How should experts approach this? We welcome contributions related to theme within the archaeology of the Mediterranean world in its broadest sense.

Deadline abstracts: February 5, 2023. See the website for more information.