Monday, August 28, 2017

Review of Cline, Three Stones Make a Wall

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Eric H. Cline, Three Stones Make a Wall: The Story of Archaeology (with illustrations by Glynnis Fawkes). Princeton, Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2017. Pp. xix, 455. ISBN 9780691166407. $35.00 (hb). Reviewed by David Gill, University of Suffolk (david.gill@uos.ac.uk).
Cline writes with a passion to communicate his love of archaeology to future generations (“a new introductory volume, meant for people of all ages”, p. xvii). His title is taken from the discernment of archaeological features (p. 217); he continues, “Six stones is a palace built by aliens”. His closing paragraph reflects on how he would rather be digging and demonstrates Cline’s commitment to the careful scientific study of the past. At times this (British) reviewer found the book idiosyncratic (as Cline accepts, p. xix, and suggests critics write their own version), the style relaxed, and the choice of locations were sometimes unexpected. For all that, I am glad to have read it, and to have absorbed a little bit of Cline’s enthusiasm for our shared discipline: and I look forward to Cline’s students, who have shared this journey, becoming the next generation of archaeologists.
I didn't know about the Disney Chair of Archaeology at the University of Chicago.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.