Lecture 1:

Houses of Eternity in Roman Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey
Dr Kate da Costa | University of Sydney

10am-11am

Abstract: Burial practices offer a glimpse into the way cultures mix very conservative traditions around honouring the dead, with their interest in observing new “fashions”. The archaeology of burial in Palmyra, which includes striking sculpture, inscriptions, and substantial built tombs (at least for the wealthy), forms the core of this lecture on Roman and Byzantine funerary practice in the northern Levant and Turkey. By contrasting the burial practices of Syria with those in modern Lebanon and Turkey, we gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which these ancient cultures interacted with the Roman empire.

Lecture 2:

Biography through tomb goods: religion in Romano- Byzantine tombs at Pella
Dr Margaret O’Hea | University of Adelaide

Abstract: What can a study of Romano- Byzantine tombs at Pella tell us about the lives of their occupants? This talk addresses the problem of constructing biographies through the offerings left for, and the objects owned by, the dead. One special case study is the unrobbed Byzantine Tomb 39A, which was published twice in exemplary detail in 1982, a year after excavation, and remains the best known of Pella’s Late Antique graves. A biography through tomb-goods by A.W. McNicoll described a pagan army veteran who had collected a piece of very early pilgrimage art in the mid-late fourth century. These published conclusions have since been accepted without much further comment or review, but with the benefits of hindsight and four decades of subsequent research, almost every aspect of what has been previously claimed for this tomb – its date, occupants, and its most significant objects – can be revised.

11am – 12:00pm

The seminars will be held online on Zoom

HOW TO BOOK

Please go to book via our NEAF website.
https://www.sydney.edu.au/arts/our-research/centres-institutes-and-groups/near-eastern-archaeology- foundation.html

You can register for the whole series at a discount, or book for specific Saturdays.

– NEAF Members: $20 per session All 5 sessions: $80
– Non-Members $30 per session All 5 sessions: $120
– All Students are free

Please note – a minimum of 20 attendees is required for each lecture for this series to run – our upper limit is 300 per lecture.

Click here to register
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Hosted by the Near Eastern Archaeology Foundation (NEAF)