ABSTRACT
This chapter explores Austen Henry Layard's larger design to bring the tribes of Mesopotamia into closer economic and political relationship with Britain and India. Layard's solutions to the political and economic problems of Mesopotamia are contiguous with his archaeological mission. The chapter argues that the myth of archaeological stewardship needs to be historicized and problematized at its very birthplace. For the British, this begins with the myth of 'Layard of Nineveh'. But as Brian Fagan's comments suggest, we are still reluctant to tarnish Layard's legacy with politics. The opening passage of Layard's Nineveh and Its Remains which introduced ancient Assyria and its excavator to the British reading public on a mass scale-is an apt place to begin unpacking the Layard Enterprise. Frederick Bohrer provides a solid basis on which to review Layard himself as a rich site for unearthing the ideological work of Victorian archaeology within the politically charged atmosphere of the Eastern Question.
