Archaeological Ambassadors

Elizabeth R. Macaulay is an Associate Professor of Liberal Studies, Classics, Middle Eastern Studies, and Digital Humanities at The Graduate Center, The City University of New York. Her research examines the intersection of antiquity and modernity. She is the author or editor of six books, including Antiquity in Gotham: The Ancient Architecture of New York City (2021) and Classical New York: Discovering Greece and Rome in Gotham (2018). Educated at Cornell and Oxford Universities, she has served as a general trustee of the Archaeological Institute of America. She chairs the board of Smarhistory.org, the Center for Public Art History, where she is also a regular contributor and acquiring editor.

“This is a valuable book, which will be read by scholars and students … who are interested in the intersection of archaeology and politics, and who wish to understand some of the many ways in which the past has been used, and in some cases manipulated, to influence the present.” (Louise Blanke, Bryn Mawr Classical Review (BMCR), bmcr.brynmawr.edu, December 24, 2024)

• Chapter 1: Archaeological Ambassadors.- Chapter 2: Cleopatra’s Needle: An Obelisk for a Rising Metropolis.- Chapter 3: Greek Bearing Gifts: The Marathon Stone, Casts, and Presidential Gifts.- Chapter 4. Columns as Cultural Capital: The Jordanian Practice of Gifting Archaeological Objects.- Chapter 5: An Exquisite Toy: The Temple of Dendur, a Gift for New York.- Chapter 6: Walks with Minerva and the Contemporary Lives of Archaeological Gifts.