The Archaeology of the Hajj


The holy mosque at Mecca with high-rise pilgrim hotels and other construction massively re-shaping the cityscape. Photo copyright Khaled Desouki.

One of my future projects is to take a closer archaeological look at pilgrimage in a cross-cultural perspective. So it was fascinating to see this photo essay in the Danish newspaper Information on the Hajj and especially its archaeological footprint, the infrastructure that it generates (including both tent towns and high-rise hotels) and all of the debris left behind by the pilgrims during their time in Mecca.

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