The excavations in Jerusalem in the Ottoman Period (1860-1918)

This research has tackled the archaeological excavations held by the European expeditions in the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem (Sanjak of Jerusalem) at the end of the Ottoman period particularly between 1860 AD and 1917 AD in terms of their motivations, objectives and their historical context besides examining the attitude of the Ottoman authorities and the people of Palestine towards them. The European exploration expeditions had accelerated in the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem since the second half of the nineteenth century as a first step to occupy it. What signified that era was the abundant and comprehensive archaeological excavations which covered the whole Mutasarrifate at that time. Some of these excavations became intense in the area adjacent to the wall of the historical Old City and sometimes it was successful to excavate inside the City. Furthermore, some excavations were performed secretly and fast inside Al-Aqsa Mosque (the Noble Sanctuary). These excavations facilitated and fueled the European rivalry in Palestine that became very vital after finishing the excavation of Suez Canal in 1869 AD. The excavations' declared object was to carry out surveys of the topography of the Holy Land during the time of the Christ and prove some biblical narrations about it. However, the remit of these excavations was not far from having military objectives as these surveys resulted for producing accurate maps of Palestine for the favour of the Corps of the Royal Engineers. Most of these surveys were performed under the supervision of the Palestine Exploration Fund, established in London in 1865 AD. It is worth to mention that many European Scholars and officers of the British army shared immensely in these surveys. Among these noteworthy individuals, who later played a vital role in the events of the area, were T. E Lawrence and Kitchener.