My "Outdated" Archaeology Library

NOTE: This article is focused on an ever-growing bibliography and will therefore be updated at regular intervals. An update log will be added at the bottom of the page after the first edit has been made.

A selection from my collection of old history & archaeology books.

One of the most interesting challenges that faced me during the early stages of researching the first book in the Professor Korrigan series, The Starseed, and it’s as of yet unfinished follow-ups, was that I quickly realised that I couldn’t rely on up-to-date archaeological research. After all, Korrigan's adventures take place in the middle of the 20th century, meaning that any advancements made in the field of archaeology (as well as our general knowledge of history) in the past several decades was not usable to me. And trust me when I say that scrubbing away recent advances in a scientific field while doing online research is difficult at best and impossible at worst. My solution therefore was an appropriately old-school one, and established a library of “outdated” archaeology and history books.

One of my hobbies—if you can even call it a hobby (maybe ‘esoteric fascination’ is a more accurate description)—is to research how people in the past perceived the world around them. As a society we tend to quickly forget what we "all" believed yesterday and one of my biggest pet-peeves in movies and literature is when characters in a historical setting talk, behave and interact with the world around them in a manner that is indistinguishable from the current zeitgeist. It is not simply anachronistic, but it betrays the apathy and lack of genuine curiosity in the people responsible for these stories. And I would also argue that there is more to be gained from getting a genuine glimpse into the past than it is to simple transplant “modern” thinking into a vintage setting.

IT STARTED IN OXFORD

This vintage library properly began its life at the University of Oxford during a research trip to the Archaeological Institute in 2023. I wanted to familiarize myself with Korrigan’s Oxford stomping grounds and was given a quick tour of the building by Robin Mason, the Communications and Outreach manager at the School of Archaeology. During the tour we briefly passed a bookshelf filled with mostly older research books during which she made a brief comment about how much more interesting the older book covers usually were and showed me one of the books, something which I very much agreed with, though I must admit that I took little note of it at the time. In my defence, though, my focus was on the building itself (quite a maze-like series of corridors and stairs) and I was at the time going through the final stages of a pretty bad cold I had been dealing with while travelling across both Norway and the UK the past couple of weeks. 

Upon my return home, however, I realised that I had missed a golden opportunity by not snapping a few photos of the shelf, so I emailed Mason and asked her if she could do so for me and email them to me. She happily obliged and within the next ten minutes after receiving the photos I had already purchased several of them online.

The Institute of Archaeology at 36 Beaumont St, Oxford.

BOOKS VS THE INTERNET

I earlier alluded to how difficult it can be to find out-of-date research material online, but keep in mind that the process is barely any easier when trying to discover older research literature. The thing is that modern algorithms are designed to give you the most “relevant” information based on your request, a misleading term that basically just means the “newest” or most “popular” information related to your search words. I won’t go into how I feel that this trend is problematic even when dealing with current-day information, but suffice it to say, in this particular situation, this fucntion was completely antithetical to my goals. And trust me, simply Googling “old archaeology books” mostly just confuses the programming as all archaeology deals with “old” things anyhow. You need to give it specific names, but then you're back at square one; how do you find old books if you don't know what to look for.

Once again, the old-school method proved the most efficient one. With my reference point from the School of Archaeology in Oxford, I have managed to branch out to several books and authors based on the references and recommendations found within. What started with general histories has developed into a collection of deeply esoteric books such as half-a-century old ordnance surveys and even a few beginners guides that would have been used by students in the 50s and 60s, much like the ones Korrigan would have taught during his fictional tenure at the university.

In my case I think I'd have more luck with one of these than with Google. 
(Photo taken at the Institute of Archaeology, May 2023.)

DON'T UNDERSTIMATE THE WEIRD

I also want to point out that one of the areas where I find that “modern” views can get the most in the way, is in the field of mythology and folklore. Modern researchers have an unfortunate tendency towards a strongly reductionist view of the world that can often come off as dismissive and cold in its almost mathematical approach to spiritual abstractions. Granted, if you go too far back then the literature can often prone towards the exact opposite problem, i.e. blatantly unscientific and often flamboyant assumptions that dabble in the esoteric and paranormal. Of course, seeing as I’m not a researcher but a fiction writer, these eccentric views can often be exactly what I am looking for. Yet another benefit of “outdated” research books. 

You might also notice on the list below that in addition to including books that are more in the category of anthropology rather than archaeology, there are also a few esoteric ones that, while not overly scientific, definitely fits the category I previously mentioned of books that explore contemporary views and interpretations of history. A great example of this is Sigmund Freud’s Moses and Monetheism, a rather peculiar, but very fascinating analysis of the Moses story by the founder of psychology. Scientific? Not really. Interesting? Definitely! Not to mention exactly the kind of odd things that an eccentric researcher like Professor Korrigan might have found interesting.

Finally, it is important to stress that this collection isn’t only for my own fascination and private research, but an attempt to get into the headspace of the character of Professor Korrigan himself, so that I can make him a more rounded and believable, not to mention more interesting, character.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A-Magasinet (mult. authors). De Første Nordmenn: Da Landet ble Befolket. Oslo: Chr. Schibsted Forlag, 1975.  

A-Magasinet (mult. authors). Vikingtog og Vikingtid. Oslo: Chr. Schibsted Forlag, 1977.

Budge, Ernest A. Walls. The Mummy: Funeral Rites & Customs in Ancient Egypt. London: Senate, 1995. First published in 1893 by The University Press, Cambridge.

Brodrick, M. & Morton, A.A. A Concise Dictionary of Egyptian Archaeology. London: Senate,1996. First published in 1902 by Methuen & Company Ltd, London. 

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1973. First published in 1949 by Bollingen Foundation Inc., New York.

Ceram, C.W. (Marek, Kurt W.). Gods, Graves & Scholars: The Story of Archaeology. Second, Revised and Substantially Enlarged Edition. London: Book Club Associates, 1971. First published in 1949 by Rowohlt Verlag GmbH., Hamburg-Stuttgart. 

Ceram, C.W. (Marek, Kurt W.). The First American: A Story of North American Archaeology. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1971.

Doblhofer, Ernst. Voices in Stone: The Decipherment of Ancient Scripts and Writings. Trans. Mervyn Savill. London: Souvenir Press, 1961 (1st UK edition). First published in 1957 in German by Paul Neff Verlag, Vienna.

Freud, Sigmund. Moses and Monotheism. New York: Vintage Books, 1967. First published in 1939 by Hogarth Press.

Ginzburg, Carlo. The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a Sixteenth-Century Miller. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 2013. First published in Italy in 1976 by Giulio Einaudi editore.

Hawkes, Sonia Chadwick & Selkirk, Andrew. Silver Jubilee Reflections. Oxford University Institute of Archaeology, 1987.

Her Majesty’s Stationary Office. Field Archaeology: Some notes for beginners issued by the Ordnance Survey. London, 1963 (fourth impression 1966).

Hole, Christina. Witchcraft in England. London: Book Club Associates, 1977.

Saklatvala, Beram. The Origins of the English People. David & Charles Newton Abbot, 1969.

Piggott, Stuart. Ancient Europe from the beginnings of Agriculture to Classical Antiquity. Edinburgh University Press,1967. First published in 1965.

Piggott, Stuart. Approach to Archaeology. London: Adam & Charles Black, 1960. First published 1959.

Piggott, Stuart. The Druids. London: Thames & Hudson, 1993. First published in 1968.

Piggott, Stuart. Scotland Before History. Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1958.

Proctor, G.L. The Vikings: Then and There Series. London: Longmans, Green and Co Ltd., 1964. First published in 1959.

Webster, Graham. Practical Archaeology: An Introduction to Archaeological Field-work and Excavation. London: Adam & Charles Black, 1963.

Wheeler, Sir Mortimer. Archaeology from the Earth. Penguin Books, 1968. First published in 1954 by The Clarendon Press, Oxford.

Wheeler, Sir Mortimer. The Indus Civilization. London: Book Club Associates, 1976. Third edition. First published in 1955 by Cambridge University Press.

Updated 16 July, 2024: added Voices in Stone & Oxford Institute of Archeology Silver Jubilee Reflections.
Updated 04 September, 2024: added The Indus Civilization & The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a Sixteenth Century Miller.