Colonial administrators also researched their countries of residence. This drawing of a Roman tomb found in the Algerian town of Marengo was made by Albert Devoulx, curator of the Arabic Archives in the land registration section in Algiers. He was also a member of the Algerian Historical Society. His work was published in the Society’s journal dedicated to Algerian archaeology: Revue Africaine, founded in 1856.

Sir Greenville Temple travelled all around the Mediterranean. This image of the temples and fountains of Zaghouan (Tunisia) was published in 1840 in his The Shores And Islands Of The Mediterranean. The Nymphaeum was a 30-meter semicircle, lined internally by a vaulted gallery in which several niches were built, from where water flowed to Carthage.

Photography was a 19th-century invention. It was not long before it was put to use to document archaeological sites. This photo was taken at the excavations of Carthage (Tunisia) by French archaeologist Father Alfred Louis Delattre.

Many of the better-preserved Roman sites are to be found in North Africa and the Middle East. Dougga in north-west Tunisia is a prime example. The site is enormous – 70 hectares – and is superbly well preserved. It is much more than a Roman site, however. It preserves over 1,500 years of settlement, with Punic, Numidian, Roman and Byzantine remains. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

In August 1840, French soldier Adolphe Delamare visited the ruins of the ancient Roman colony at Cuicul (Djémila). He returned in 1848. During his time at the site, he produced multiple sketches, many of which are now in the Sorbonne. This drawing in the Museum of Fine Arts, Algeria, is a detailed field sketch of the second-century ruins.

Ravoisié also drew this Roman bridge, which had been restored under Salah Bey’s rule in 1790.

Ravoisié also drew this image of a Roman triumphal arch.

The remains of ancient churches were of particular interest to the Catholic Church, which hoped to reinvigorate the Catholic faith in North Africa. This drawing of the Basilica at Djémila was published by Amable Ravoisié in his Exploration scientifique de l’Algérie pendant les années 1840, 1841 et 1842.

The remains of ancient churches were of particular interest to the Catholic Church, which hoped to reinvigorate the Catholic faith in North Africa. This drawing of the Basilica at Djémila was published by Amable Ravoisié in his Exploration scientifique de l’Algérie pendant les années 1840, 1841 et 1842.

Ravoisié also drew this image of the site of Cherchell, Algeria.

King Otto of Greece (1833–63) transformed ruinous Athens into a European capital worthy of its erstwhile glory. Spectacular changes were made to the appearance and planning of the city. This 1845 view comes from Théodore Du Moncel’s Vues pittoresques des monuments d’Athènes. We see the Roman Agora, natural continuation of the ancient Agora, and known in Ottoman times as the Bazaar Gate.

The Painted Stoa (colonnade depicted on the right here) was known to 19th-century visitors by various names. Its true identity was not discovered until after 1884 with systematic excavations in the area of the Roman Agora. A small Byzantine church is also visible. This is Hagioi Asomatoi sta skalia (Incorporeal Saints at the steps), which was demolished, and exemplifies the misguided antiquarian notion of “purifying” archaeological sites.

The first use of photography on an archaeological site was in 1855 under Louis-Adrien Berbrugger (1801–69). He had shown that the so-called “Tomb of the Christian” was in fact a royal mausoleum of Mauritania. This photograph comes from an “illustrated report” made by Félix-Jacques-Antoine Moulin while he was in Algiers: in it Berbrugger (next to the door), is seen with John Green (photographer of the archaeological campaign) and a dozen Zouaves who participated in the excavations.

Architectural elevation of the ruins of the Roman aqueducts of Caesarea Maritima in Palestine by C. R. Conder of the British Corps of the Royal Engineers, dated 6 April 1873. In addition to the geographical features of the land, olive groves, other agricultural features and the villages, the Survey of Western Palestine recorded all the visible archaeological remains of the country.

British archaeologist Flinders Petrie purchased this figurine in Giza (Egypt). He was informed by the seller that it had been unearthed at a site in the western Nile Delta. Petrie, recognising the Cypriot and Egyptian influences, headed to the region where it was said the figurine was found. It was here that he uncovered the town of Naukratis.

The World Heritage site of Umm al-Rasas (Jordan) contains ruins from the Roman, Byzantine and early Muslim periods. The most important monument is the mosaic floor of the Church of St Stephen. Built in 785 AD (during the Abbasid period), it depicts the major cities in Jordan, Palestine and Egypt. It reflects the spirit of tolerance and co-existence between Muslim and Christian communities at that time. Umm al-Rasas was visited by English scholar and traveller Henry Baker Tristram in 1872.