Teaching the “science of antiquities” in the late ottoman Turkey: Eckhard unger and “İlm-i asar-ı atika medhali” [introduction to the science of antiquities]

Archaeology, art & architectural history, and aesthetics were all new fields of intellectual activity in the late Ottoman era. Even as some of them were being taught in institutions of higher education and articles were appearing in journals and newspapers on these subjects, it was difficult to name their development as the emergence of separate new disciplines. Rather, the general tableau they presented was a composite area of interest with a high degree of interpenetration. As for courses in academic institutions, the professors usually were not trained in these areas and the courses had neither continuity nor a precisely defined content. We have to admit that our knowledge of these courses is rather restricted as well. For most of them, only the name of the course and/or the name of the professor is known. In this context, the notes of the ilmi asar-ı atika medhali [introduction to the science of antiquities] lectures given by the German archaeologist Eckhard Unger at Darülfünun [University] appear to be a valuable source that may help to clarify the notion of ilmi asar-ı atika and to shed light on the history of archaeological education in the Ottoman Empire.