Fotografias antigas e a redescoberta da antiguidade no Oriente Médio em meados do século XIX

The emergence of the daguerreotype and its acquisition by the French State in 1839 allowed this recording technique to be utilized by various fields of knowledge, such as natural sciences, medical sciences, and the emerging human sciences. Additionally, photography sparked widespread interest in European society, attracted both by new technical inventions and by the exoticism that the East evoked. This article examines the first photographic records of the archaeological monuments of the ancient civilizations of the Near East, particularly Egypt and Assyria. Initially, these images were used as material for the publication of eye-catching travel albums, but over time, photography became a fundamental tool for archaeological excavations. The article is divided into three parts: the first addresses the emergence of the daguerreotype and its diffusion; the second explores the resurgence of interest in Antiquity following the Napoleonic campaigns and the first photographs of the great ancient monuments; and finally, the third examines how photography became an essential tool for archaeology.