The passage of time reveals two things – the forgetfulness of human memory, and the clarity of hindsight – neither of which of course is a law. For the archaeology of modern conflict, in this case the First World War, such is the dominance of the Western Front of France and Belgium that the Eastern Front is too often hardly acknowledged let alone explored or understood.
Roxana-Talida Roman’s The Edge of Europe is thus a standout book that not only fills a notable gap in our knowledge – the material record of Romania’s 1914-1918 conflict landscapes – but is also framed by current transnational issues of remembrance and cultural heritage.
Romania’s status throughout the First World War fluctuated wildly – from being neutral, to becoming a combatant with the Allies, to being at armistice with the Central Powers, to rejoining the Allies for a day between 10-11 November 1918. As if this was not complexity enough, the historic sites investigated here are problematic, built by the Austro-Hungarian and German military on Romanian territory against their Romanian enemy in 1916-1917.
Excavating the CA archive