‘One Step Ahead’

Abstract In Turkey, people who look for valuables in undocumented archaeological sites and ruins are typically known as ‘treasure-hunters’. These treasure-hunters hope to find vast hoards that can potentially lift them out of economic precarity. Such treasures, however, are seldom unguarded. Many tell tales of traps lying in wait at treasure sites. The trap narrative hinges on anticipating a moment of capture, which can be sidestepped only by cultivating a cunning and vigilant self, capable of outwitting a hostile spectral intentionality. These ideas often reflect attitudes that treasure-hunters have toward material constraints in the everyday. By focusing on trap narratives, this article explores how vernacular imaginaries of the past resonate with experiences of the present and concerns for the future.