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Archaeology and Agatha Christie
[edit]Christie had always had an interest in archaeology.
"The lure of the past came up to grab me. To see a dagger slowly appearing, with its gold glint, through the sand was romantic. The carefulness of lifting pots and objects from the soil filled me with a longing to be an archaeologist myself."
- -Christie expressing her interest in archaeology, a passage from An Autobiography (London, 1984), p. 389[1]
On a trip to the excavation site at Ur in 1948, she met her future husband, archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan, a distinguished archaeologist, but her fame as an author far surpassed his fame in archaeology [2]. Prior to meeting Mallowan, Christie has not had any extensive brushes with archaeology, but once the two married they made sure to only go to sites where together they could work.
"Many years ago, when I was once saying sadly to Max it was a pity I couldn't have taken up archaeology when I was a girl, so as to be more knowledgeable on the subject, he said, 'Don't you realize that at this moment you know more about prehistoric pottery than any woman in England?"
- -Christie wishing for an earlier exposure to Archaeology, a passage from An Autobiography (1984), p. 546[3]
While accompanying Mallowan on countless archaeological trips (spending up to 3-4 months at a time in Syria and Iraq at excavation sites at Ur, Ninevah, Tell Arpachiyah, Chagar Bazar, Tell Brak, and Nimrud), Christie not only wrote novels and short stories, but also contributed work to the archaeological sites, more specifically to the archaeological restoration and labeling of ancient exhibits which includes tasks such as cleaning and conserving delicate ivory pieces, reconstructing pottery, developing photos from early excavations which later led to taking photographs of the site and its findings, and taking field notes[4].
As to not influence the funding of the archaeological excavations, Christie would always pay for her own board and lodging and her travel expenses, and she also supported the excavations as an anonymous sponsor[5] .
Archaeological influences found in her writing
[edit]Many of the settings for Agatha Christie’s books were directly inspired by the many archaeological field seasons spent in the Middle East on the sites managed by her second husband Max Mallowan. Her time spent at the many locations featured in her books is very apparent by the extreme detail in which she describes them. One such site featured in her books is the temple site of Abu Simbel in her book Death on the Nile, as well as the great detail in which she describes life at the dig site in her book Murder in Mesopotamia.
- Characters
Of the characters in her books, Christie has often showcased the archaeologist and experts in Middle Eastern cultures and artifacts. Most notably are the characters of Dr. Eric Leidner in Murder in Mesopotamia, Signor Richetti in Death on the Nile, and many minor characters in They Came to Baghdad were archaeologists.
More indirectly, Christie’s famous character of Hercule Poirot can be compared to an archaeologist in his detailed scrutiny of all facts both large and small. Cornelius Holtorf, an academic archaeologist, describes an archaeologist as a detective as one of the key themes of archaeology in popular culture. [6] He describes an archaeologist as a professional detective of the past who has the ability to reveal secrets for the greater of society. Holtorf’s description of the archaeologist as a detective is very similar to Christie’s Poirot who is hugely observant and is very careful to look at the small details as they often impart the most information. Many of Christie’s detective characters show some archaeological traits through their careful attention to clues and artifacts alike. Miss Marple, another of Christie’s most famous characters, shares these characteristics of careful deduction though the attention paid to the small clues.
- Spiritual and Religious
Christie’s life within the archaeological world not only shaped her settings and characters for her books but also in the issues she highlights. One of the stronger influences is her love of the mystical and mysterious. Many of Christie’s books and short stories both set in the Middle East and back in England have a decidedly otherworldly influence in which religious sects, sacrifices, ceremony, and seances play a part. Such stories include “The Hound of Death” and “the Idol House of Astarte". This theme was greater strengthened by Christie’s time spent in the Middle East where she was consistently surrounded by the religious temples and spiritual history of the towns and cities they were excavating in Mallowan’s archaeological work.
- Travel as Adventure
During Christie and Mallowan's time in the Middle East, along with their time spent among the many tombs, temples, and museums, there was also a large amount of time spent traveling to and from Mallowan's sites. The traveling involved in the archaeology had a large influence on Christie's writing, which is often reflected as some type of transportation playing a part in her murderer’s schemes. The large amount of travel done by Christie and Mallowan has not only made for a great writing theme, as shown in her famous novel: The Murder on the Orient Express, but also tied into the idea of archaeology as an adventure that has become so important in today’s popular culture as described by Cornelius Holtorf in his book Archaeology is a Brand[7].
Popular novels with heavy archaeological influences
[edit]- Christie’s Murder in Mesopotamia is the most archaeologically influenced of all her novels as it is set in the Middle East at an archaeological dig site and associated expedition house. The Main characters included an archaeologist, Dr. Eric Leidner, as well as his wife, multiple specialists, assistants and the men working the site. The novel is most noted for its careful description of the dig site and house, which showed the author had spent much of her own time in very similar situations herself. The characters in this book in particular are also based on archaeologists Christie knew from her personnel experiences on excavations sites.
- Appointment with Death is set in Jerusalem and its surrounding area. The death itself occurs in at an old cave site and offers some very descriptive details of sites which Christie herself would have visited in order to write the book.
- Death on the Nile takes place on a tour boat on the Nile. Many archaeological sites are visited along the way and one of the main characters is an archaeologist, Signor Richetti.
- They Came to Baghdad was inspired by Christie's own trips to Baghdad with Mallowan, and involves an archaeologist as the heroine's love interest.
Miscellaneous
[edit]From 8 November 2001 - 24 March 2002, The British Museum had an exhibit named “Agatha Christie and Archaeology: Mystery in Mesopotamia”, which presented a fascinating look at the secret life of Agatha Christie and the influences of archaeology in her life and works[8].
Notes
[edit]- ^ Morgan, 1984 p. 389
- ^ Dever, 2004, pp. 162
- ^ Morgan, 1984 p. 546
- ^ Trustees of the British Museum, accessed from http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours/middle_east/agatha_christie__archaeology/agatha_christie__archaeology.aspx
- ^ Trustees of the British Museum, British Museum, http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours/middle_east/agatha_christie__archaeology/pottery_palace_ware_jar.aspx
- ^ Holtorf, 2007. p. 75
- ^ http://web.comhem.se/cornelius/brand.html
- ^ Trustees of the British Museum, 2012, accessed from http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours/middle_east/agatha_christie__archaeology/agatha_christie__archaeology.aspx
Bibliography
[edit]- Agatha Christie Limited
- "Travel and Archaeology". Agatha Christie Limited. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- "AGATHA CHRISTIE – THE EXPLORER AND ARCHAEOLOGIST" (PDF). Agatha Christie Limited. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
- Dever, Norma. (2004) "They Also Dug! Archaeologist’s Wives and Their Stories." Near Eastern Archaeology. Boston: The American Schools of Oriental Research. Vol. 67,No. 3, pp. 162-173
- Holtorf, Cornelius. (2007) Archaeology is a Brand! The meaning of archaeology in contemporary popular culture. Oxford, England: Archaeopress.
- Lubelski, Amy (2002). "Museums: In the Field with Agatha Christie". Archaeology. 55 (2). Retrieved 28 February 2012.
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- Morgan, Janet P. (1984) Agatha Christie: a biography. London: Collins.
- Roaf, Michael and Robert Killick. (1987) "A Mysterious Affair of Styles: The Ninevite 5 Pottery of Northern Mesopotamia." Iraq. Vol.49, pp. 199-230
- Thomas, W.G. "Murder in Mesopotamia: Agatha Christie and Archaeology", http://www.gwthomas.org/murderinmeso.htm
- Trustees of the British Museum. (2012) The British Museum, http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours/middle_east/agatha_christie__archaeology/pottery_palace_ware_jar.aspx