ARCHAEOLOGICAL DESTRUCTION AND FOLKLORE: SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE AND LOOTING IN TURKEY.

• Author: Karatas, Hicran

1. Introduction

   This paper reports the outcome of a field study concerned with how and why the looting of cultural heritage in Turkey is strongly associated with local folklore and traditional beliefs. Given the scale of the ongoing destruction and the stiff legal penalties looters already face, this research set out to obtain an ethnographic view of the rituals and activities of people who find and then illicitly destroy archaeological assets, while often fearful of endangering their wellbeing and freedom in the process. I sought to engage with communities that search for hidden, buried, charmed, or 'protected' treasures, to hear their current attitudes and beliefs regarding mythological entities such as the Islamic jinn and their relevance to the productivity and safety of looters.

   The following discussion aims to reveal the unseen and possibly overlooked driving forces behind the looting, including the role of hodjas or spiritualists who claim to commune with mythological jinn entities to locate buried treasures and free them from spells and enchantments that are believed to protect them from being uncovered. The discussion addresses the powerful influence of local folklore and beliefs on the conduct of the looting.

   It is well known that the threats posed to archaeological heritage by looting have become a pivotal concern for archaeologists, anthropologists, and folklorists (Hollowell and Nicholas 2009, Aiwa 2001, Atwood 2004, Barker 2018). Currently scholars suggest that collaboration with local people is essential to conduct projects at all levels (Field et al. 2000, Fogelin 2007, Shapiro 1994). Archaeologists have combined ethnographic fieldwork in their own methodologies to comprehend more fully a particular community or setting with its cultural context. Such fieldwork generates ethnographic data relevant to the interpretation of finds in excavations and of their present meaning, and sharing this knowledge with the community (Lawrence and Main 1996, Marthari 2001, Moses 2020, Wobst 2013). In this way researchers are encouraged to collaborate with local people and meaningfully address problems related to their research. In such contexts, archaeological knowledge becomes multifaceted, recognising that information about human behaviour is not easy to read through archaeological artefacts alone. The rich content of their context in social life goes beyond the simple structure of the material.

2. Materials and methods

   The fieldwork for the present study was conducted in three areas located in the Black Sea region of Turkey with a written history of settlement going back to the Hittites. Homer mentioned this area as Paphlagonia in the Iliad (70-71, 127). There is a vague reference to Paphlagonia as an area located along the Halys River (Herodotus 1861: 122). Phrygians, Persians, Romans, Seljuks, and Ottomans ruled in the region as well. The fact that the history of the area promises archaeological assets from these periods makes it vulnerable to treasure hunters.

   The study was undertaken between June and October 2017, September 2019-March 2019, and May-September 2021 in order to understand the motivations and dimensions of the phenomenon of antiquities looting. I aimed to gain an insight and explanation as to how and under what circumstances this phenomenon was able to continue despite the legal penalties in place. Conducting ethnographic fieldwork, I gained to access to an experienced mentor of looters in Safranbolu. With his recommendation, I was able to interview 68 informants who stated that they are active and interested in searching for treasures, and 23 who stated that they had formerly done so. I also interviewed eight students of art history, archaeology, and history, who helped treasure hunters to read, date, and identify antiquities for a small fee. All of the other interviewees were in full-time employment or retired with a pension (Table 2). I was also able to interview 9 hodjas who stated they had regular contact with mythical jinn whom they persuade to identify and locate hidden or protected treasure and to communicate with some who are unwilling to do so. In Turkish-Anatolian folklore, the title hodja is vested in people who performs acts through the assistance of supernatural power, ox jinn. Seven of the hodjas had attended Islamic madrasah.

   None of my informants had a detailed knowledge about the history of Anatolia, but some were experienced in archaeological fieldwork. A few individuals among excavation teams working in groups of six or eight people are able to classify objects according to their archaeological period and to estimate the prospective price that may be offered by a middleman.

   Digging with the assistance of jinn on illicit excavations in Turkey is mentioned in studies that were conducted in Van, Nevshir and Adana (Uysal 1974, 1983, 1985, Savran 1997, Yolcu and Karakaya 2017, Senesen 2016, Cahiskan 2019, Konyar 2008: 222, Akkaya and Efe 2015: 110). In my fieldwork, I identified 15 hodjas who were advising treasure hunters at the time; six refused to be interviewed for fear of legal pursuit by the police. Of those agreeing to participate, nine interviews went smoothly, since I assured them that they would not be mentioned in any text by their real names. All respondents were labelled with pseudonyms that are common Turkish names as it is suggested in prior studies to protect the privacy and security of participants (Hick 1977, Amstrong 1993, Guenther 2009, McCormack et al. 2012, Svalastog and Eriksson 2010, Brear 2018).

   I preferred to conduct unstructured interviews because I believed certain topics could present themselves unexpectedly and be relevant to one of the various dimensions of my study. This helped me to amend questions accordingly. The questions were categorized into four groups: (1) personal information; (2) level, and structure of participation in illegal excavations; (3) methods and knowledge used and gained during their practices; and (4) feelings, thoughts, and attitude about the illegal digging. All 91 looters were unaware of the value and importance of archaeological resources to cultural heritage. This attitude reflects the folk belief that "Anatolia is full of gold and silver", and many folk narratives and expressions feed this attitude as well. Undertaking illegal excavations with the help of jinn is also affected by oral tradition in which heroes find hidden, buried, or forgotten treasures with the help of jinn.

3. What or who are the jinn?

   The existence of jinn is widely accepted in Islamic communities and described and defined mostly in the Qur'an and the hadith which is collection of deeds and words of Muhammad. Muslim societies have common faith in the existence of jinn. Even though jinn and human beings are believed to be similar, their origins and lives differ (Al-Ashgar 1998, 2003, Khalifa 2005, Sakr 2001). The Qur'an (in Surah Ar-Rahman) states: "He created man from sounding clay like pottery, and created jinn from smokeless flame of fire". Jinn are said to inhabit caves, deserted places, graveyards, and darkness (Al-Ashgar 2003). These places are commonly where looters carry out illegal excavations. Jinn are also believed to possess different forms, human and animal (El-Zein 2009: 89-103). Many who claim to interact with jinn do so in order to cure ailments, disabilities, spiritual problems, engage in witchcraft, and locate hidden, buried or stolen objects (Khalifa and Hardie 2005: 351, 2011: 69-75, Cohen 2008: 104-108, Dein and Illaiee 2013: 291-292, Karatas 2021: 171-188).

   Hodjas assert that once a jinn is called forward s/he will be both in the command of their human friend and will not harm looters as long as they satisfy their wishes. In my fieldwork, all looters I encountered were Muslim, and most were working with Muslim scholars specialized in treasure locating; a few of these looters, however, were also acting on the advice of Christian priests (papaz). Prevalent among Turkish looters is the notion that to find ethnic treasures, it is necessary for them to seek assistance from non-Muslim scholars (Cahiskan 2019, Kocaoglu 2021).

   Several fieldwork studies have reported on community beliefs and practices involving possession by spirits (or ghosts and jinn). Typically, members of the community with a physical or mental disability are thought to be possessed by jinn (Karatas. 2021, Cahliskan 2019, Savran 1997). Jinn are believed to have the power to harm people (Nourse 1996, Al-Houdalieh 2012). Clergy and experienced actors are employed to cleanse victims of spirits in rituals involving reading or citing religious verses over them, inhaling incense, and washing them in holy waters (Nourse 1996, Karatas 2021, Jankowski 2001).

   In the present study, 34 informants stated that they had interacted with hodjas and jinn to locate valuable objects. Another 39 stated that they consulted hodjas before they undertook excavations in an effort to ensure their safety and success. Six who said they had previous contact with jinn experienced unpleasant situations and had subsequently given up digging for treasure with their help. After making numerous fruitless excavations, 12 informants stated that while they continue to believe in the existence of jinn, they no longer employ hodjas because they are expensive and ineffective.

   The informants I interviewed work in groups of five to seven men. None openly confirmed that they unearthed artefacts with the help of jinn, but they were willing to talk about finds that other groups had made with spiritual help. Over time I observed that each of the groups mentioned obtained help at some level during their excavations, but they told their own stories as if they were others'. Their narratives about looting indicate that jinn are called upon to locate valuable artefacts by communicating with the original owners and also to break any spell which had been cast upon potential looters. During my fieldwork, I...