Archaeological Institute of America

Expanding the Ancient World K-12 Educator Workshop | Digital Approaches to Global Art History: The Example of the Human Figure
2026-04-21 17:30 - 19:00 (America/New_York)
This workshop will take place online; a Zoom link will be provided via email to registered participants.
Registration is required at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdnphF1cS7-JSnFxoe7HAAelGJ4ufS2P1l8CEY8LC1NOgQQ4A/viewform
Expanding the Ancient World is a series of professional development workshops and online resources for teachers. Keyed to the NYC Department of Education Social Studies Scope and Sequence, this program is designed to offer K-12 educators opportunities to develop their knowledge of the ancient world and to provide classroom-ready strategies for teaching the past with reliable sources. Featuring inquiry-based workshops, flexible lesson plans, and up-to-date research, Expanding the Ancient World aims to equip teachers with information and skills that they can share with their students. CTLE credits will be offered to New York State teachers.
This workshop uses the prompt of a newly started digital project to consider how large scale narratives and individual objects can be integrated into curriculums and into classroom experiences. The project is Global Approaches to Early Representations of the Human Figure, currently browseable at https://gaerhf.org. GAERHF – as it’s known – starts with the broad premise that we as a species – as a group – have been looking at ourselves for a long time and have been making images of ourselves for a long time. The phenomenon is pervasive enough so that representing it in digital form and encouraging exploration via a website supports an art history that allows for many narratives to be present at the same time. Many cultures made images of the human figure. Sometimes those cultures were in dialog with others, thereby creating narratives of mutual influence. But that is not always the case. Regardless of degrees of contact, GAERHF can be a tool for recognizing complexity and sophistication in many pre-modern societies. Its scope is approximately 50,000 BCE to 1500 CE and it includes figures from anywhere they are made and in any medium. Within this large-scale context, individual objects are represented in such a way that users – educators or students – can define and explore flexible ranges of time and space as they consider how to frame the global approach inherent in GAERHF.
The workshop will start with an introduction to GAERHF. This will include an introduction to the digital technologies underlying the site but the focus will be on the content and the interactions it supports. Breakout groups will be given prompts as to possible uses of GAERHF in the classroom and for assignments. Because GAERHF is a very new project, these prompts will be practical but it is also hoped that the educators present will provide feedback that will inform the future development of this resource.
Workshop led by Sebastian Heath (Clinical Associate Professor of Computational Humanities and Roman Archaeology, ISAW).
Participants will receive 1.5 CTLE hours.
If you have any questions regarding the Expanding the Ancient World program please email ETAW@nyu.edu.
Please check isaw.nyu.edu for event updates.
ISAW is committed to providing a positive and educational experience for all guests and participants who attend our public programming. We ask that all attendees follow the guidelines listed in our community standards policy.

The Coronado Expedition: The New Evidence
2026-04-21 18:30 - 19:30 (America/New_York)
Dr. Deni Seymour (Jornada Research Institute) will talk about her work over the last few years during which she and her team discovered 17 sites left behind in southern Arizona by the Coronado Expedition of 1539-1542. The discovery of a Spanish townsite, overnight camps, and travel routes have revolutionized our understanding of the expedition – where they went, how they were organized, weapons they carried and what they did. Equally important are the insights gained into the Native Nations that lived in the area and interacted with the Spanish. Also, the discovery of a bronze cannon, the oldest European weapon found in the continental U.S.
Co-sponsored with the Museum of New Mexico Foundation, Friends of Archaeology.

Archaeology and the Art Museum
2026-04-22 19:30 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | Alumni Hall 302 (“Trustees Room’), Knox College, Galesburg, IL, 61401, United States
Martha Sharp Joukowsky Lectureship

Archaeology-Hour Screening: Ecology and Slavery in St. Croix
2026-04-23 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Whitman College Maxey Hall 207, 173 Stanton St., Walla Walla, WA, 99362, United States
Please join us for an in-person screening and informal discussion of the Archaeology Hour talk by Justin Dunnavant (UCLA).
The development of plantation slavery radically transformed societies and environments in the Americas. In this talk, Dunnavant will delve into the colonial practice of coral mining and its environmental impacts in the Danish West Indies. Drawing from archaeological, historical, and environmental data, Dunnavant reveals how the use of coral as the dominant construction material for colonial buildings left a lasting legacy on the landscape and seascape that is still evident today on the island of St. Croix.
This event is free and open to the public.

Social Justice and Archaeology at the Bade Museum
2026-04-23 17:00 - 18:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Badè Museum of Biblical Archaeology, 1798 Scenic Ave, Berkeley, CA, 94709, United States
Since the recent global pandemic, the Bade Museum has hosted a variety of online talks focused on the ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern world on a variety of themes related to modern social justice issues. Together with various partner institutions, but always the Archaeological Research Facility at UC Berkeley, staff has hosted over five and a half years of scholarly talks, all of which are posted on our YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@bademuseum. While limited few can watch the talks through live streaming, most views come later after each zoom video is uploaded to the web. In less than 6 years, these videos have well over 50,000 views, a number that cannot be replicated in person. While topics like new approaches to ancient Nubia, unsilencing the archives, women and gender in the ancient world, Phoenician women and gender in the homeland and diaspora, and Disability in the ancient Middle East and Mediterranean might seem anachronistic; junior scholars and scholars on the margins of their fields have shown that they can study and publish work on antiquity relevant to modern issues while they themselves are breaking barriers in presenting their work to a globalized audience.
A lecture by Dr. Aaron Brody, Robert and Kathryn Riddell Professor of Bible and Archaeology and Director of the Badè Museum of Biblical Archaeology. We will begin at Berkeley time, 5:10pm, at the Badè Museum of Biblical Archaeology – 1798 Scenic Ave, Berkeley, CA.

Landscapes of Time and Memory: Foragers in the Mojave Desert
2026-04-23 17:30 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, 60 George St., Providence, RI, 02912, United States

Digging in Circles: Miami's Prehistoric Legacy
2026-04-23 18:30 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Memorial Art Gallery, 500 University Avenue, Rochester, NY, 14607, United States

Pilgrims and Co-Presence in the Sanctuary of Diana Nemorensis
2026-04-24 12:00 - 14:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | McCune Conference room, HSSB 6020, UCSB, Santa Barbara, California, 93117, United States
Local Annual AIA Lecture. Pizza lunch will be served!

Digging in Circles: Miami's Prehistoric Legacy
2026-04-24 15:30 - 16:30 (America/New_York) | University of Albany – Uptown Campus, Campus Center West Multipurpose Room (Ground Floor), 1400 Washington Ave, 12222, United States

Dr. Shanti Morell-Hart: “Beyond the Swidden: Mesoamerican Agricultural Practices Past, Present, and Future”
2026-04-25 10:30 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | University of Dayton, 300 College Drive Ave, SC 114, Dayton, OH, 45469, United States
Doris Z. Stone New World Archaeology Lectures
How do we understand human negotiations of variable ecologies from the perspective of deep time, and identify historical shifts in these dynamics? How does such research help us to understand societal “collapse” as it has been framed by so many scholars (often outside of historical ecology and archaeology)? What cautionary tales or routes to innovation can we draw from these understandings? In this talk I address recent studies in Mesoamerica on ancient agriculture, as well as resilient features of human practice in negotiating tropical landscapes. I focus on several areas where I have carried out archaeological research in Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras, with an emphasis on the analysis of plant residues. Broadly, I consider: How can we negotiate productivity and sustainability (through many cultural and natural definitions)? What alternate farming solutions can we offer, based in archaeological research and understandings of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK)? In this talk, I address contemporary issues in Mesoamerica, from the home garden, to the milpa, to the forest. What new agricultural strategies in tropical Mesoamerica have been inspired- – or discouraged– by ancient practices? What additional strategies might we consider in an era of radical environmental change?

The Archaeology of Ancient Greek Dress
2026-04-28 17:00 - 18:30 (America/Chicago) | TBA (Rockford), Rockford, IL, United States
The Barbara Tsakirgis Memorial Lecture Time TBA

New Insights into Changing Lifeways in Ancient Nubia
2026-04-30 18:00 - 19:30 (America/Phoenix) | Zoom, 4985 SW 74th Court, Miami, FL, 33155, United States
Brenda J. Baker, PhD
Professor of Anthropology
Center for Bioarchaeological Research
School of Human Evolution and Social Change
“New Insights into Changing Lifeways in Ancient Nubia”
The Bioarchaeology of Nubia Expedition (BONE) focuses on the area between the Fourth and Fifth Cataracts of the Nile River in northern Sudan, enriching our understanding of the extent to which people peripheral to core areas where state-level societies operated were integrated. Interconnections are evident from the Kerma period (c. 2500-1500 BCE) on, incorporating exotic items such as carnelian and Red Sea mollusc shell beads and Egyptian vessels, though local craft production is evident. Analysis of strontium isotopes from tooth enamel shows a decrease in mobility throughout the Kerma period in this area, likely reflecting a shift in subsistence practices. Late Meroitic through Post-Meroitic period burials from the Qinifab School site cemetery (used c. 250-1450 CE) include extra-local items indicative of continuing access to far-flung exchange networks despite the construction of a network of stone-walled forts in the region and evidence of conflict commencing during this time. Inclusion of archery equipment in the graves of several males coincides with high rates of trauma reflecting interpersonal violence. These trends suggest that the disintegration of the Meroitic empire led to ongoing incursions and that control by the kingdom of Makuria and conversion of the local populace to Christianity was fraught. Avulsion of lower incisor teeth in nearly 10% of adult males and females became a new marker of identity in late Meroitic to medieval people of the region and new work reveals that tattoos were also far more common in ancient Nubia than previously recognized.
Biography
Brenda J. Baker is a professor of anthropology in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, a core faculty member of the Center for Bioarchaeological Research and curator of the ancient Nubian collections housed at ASU. She directs the Bioarchaeology of Nubia Expedition (BONE) in northern Sudan and is the founding co-editor-in-chief of Bioarchaeology International (2015-present). Baker taught previously at Tufts University (1992) and Minnesota State University Moorhead (1993-94), and was director of the Repatriation Program and curator of Human Osteology at the New York State Museum from 1994-1998. She has served on the Executive Committee of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (2012-2015), as an associate editor of the International Journal of Paleopathology (2010-2015) and Journal of Human Evolution (2020-present), and was a founding Steering Committee member of the Western Bioarchaeology Group (2012-2022). She is also a founding member of the American-Sudanese Archaeological Research Cener, serving on its advisory panel (2017-present). Baker’s teaching includes upper-division undergraduate courses such as the Global History of Health, Life and Death in Ancient Egypt, Bioarchaeology, undergraduate and graduate courses in human osteology, and graduate courses in Paleopathology, Children and Childhood in the Past, Nubian Bioarchaeology, and field methods.
Registration is required. Follow this link to register: https://asu.zoom.us/meeting/register/VrIBqv9sQ_CwgC39LZu8MQ#/registration

"Greek Caves: On Archaeology, Myths, Religions and Cultural Heritage Preservation"
2026-04-30 18:30 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Center for Hellenic Studies, 3100 Whitehaven St. NW, Washington, DC, 20008, United States
*REGISTRATION REQUIRED TO ATTEND IN PERSON: https://forms.gle/GAwxSNfiGqYTrEoK6
Washington DC Society of the AIA and the Center for Hellenic Studies present the 39th Richard Hubbard Howland Lecture by Dr. Stella Katsarou, Ephorate of Palaeoanthropology-Speleology, Greek Ministry of Culture

There Is More To Egypt than Tut: Challenges for Egyptology and Egyptologists
2026-05-02 10:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Rye Free Reading Room, 1061 Boston Post Road, Rye, New York, 10580, United States
The Archaeological Institute of America, Westchester Society, and the New York chapter of the American Research Center in Egypt are pleased to present to present the following free online symposium “There Is More To Egypt than Tut: Challenges for Egyptology and Egyptologists.”
Date: May 2, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM-1:00 PM ET.
The program is hosted by the Rye Free Reading Room. To register click here.
The purpose of the symposium is to do exactly what the title expresses. King Tutankhamun is the universal face of Egypt to the world. Egypt is blessed with an abundance of art, architecture, and writing. But there is more to the study of Egypt than material objects.
The speakers in this symposium will address issues in chronology based on the First Intermediate Period, the Hyksos based on the Second Intermediate Period, race and Nubia, women and the relation of Egyptology to other “ologies.”
There will be a ten minute break between the third and fourth speakers.
Periodization and the creation of a new Egyptian History
Thomas Schneider, Professor of Egyptology and Near Eastern Studies (on leave 2023-7),
University of British Columbia
The conventional periodization of ancient Egyptian history as a sequence of ‘kingdoms’ and ‘intermediate periods’ (and subperiods, such as “the Ramesside period”, dynasties) is a legacy of the 19th and early 20th c., partially informed by a chronological grid conveyed in Manetho’s Aigyptiaca. This conventional sequencing of history is perpetuated in all recent histories of ancient Egypt, whose narratives and summary chronological tables make something appear historical that is mere practical convention. Despite the fact that Egyptological scholarship has fundamentally changed our understanding of Egyptian history over the past 100 years, the field has never attempted any alternative historical periodization that assesses phenomena of historical (dis)continuity and cohesion based on current knowledge. This lecture will discuss the importance of periodization as a historiographical tool and chart a way forward towards a new periodization of Egyptian history.
Prior to coming to University of British Columbia in 2007, he taught at multiple institutions. From 2018-20, he was Associate Vice President (International) at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China. From 2016-7, he served in a part-time role as Advisor to the President at Quest University Canada. From 2014-8, he was a member of the UBC Senate and worked, among other projects, on a Responsible Conduct of Research Initiative by the Dean and Vice Provost, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. From 2021-2022, he was the founding Executive Director of the Pacific Alliance of Liberal Arts Colleges (PALAC). On January 1, 2023, he took up the position of Chief Executive of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (www.apru.org).
He is the founding editor of the “Journal of Egyptian History” (2008-2014) and was the editor of “Culture and History of the Ancient Near East” (Brill, 2006-2013) and “Near Eastern Archaeology” (American Schools of Oriental Research, 2012-2018).
There’s more to Egypt than Egyptians
Dani Candelora, College of Holy Cross
In Egyptology, the Hyksos are at best dismissed as an irrelevant blip in pharaonic power, and at worst vilified as the invading barbarians of Manetho’s narrative. Ongoing research, both reinvestigating well-known texts and uncovering new archaeological evidence, has shown that neither are accurate. Instead, the Hyksos were multicultural rulers with links to broader West Asian power networks, and their reigns influenced Egyptian culture in arenas from warfare to religion, technology to language. Despite being accepted as Egyptian kings by most Egyptians, and even respected by later Egyptian dynasties, the negative Theban political rhetoric has overwhelmingly colored the Hyksos’s treatment in the field. These kings are an important part of Egyptian history, and should be recognized for the legacy they left behind.
Danielle Candelora is the Assistant Professor of Classics and Egyptology at the College of Holy Cross. She received her B.A. from Brown University, her M.A. from the University of Chicago, Oriental Institute (now Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures), and her Ph.D. in Egyptian Archaeology from the University of Chicago, Oriental Institute (now Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures). Her dissertation was “Redefining the Hyksos: Immigration and Identity Negotiation in the Second Intermediate Period” and she has maintained that interest in her academic career. Her research and teaching interests are Immigration and Identity Negotiation, Egyptian/Near Eastern/Mediterranean Art, Architecture, Material Culture, and Archaeology, Interdisciplinary Theoretical Approaches to Identity, Border Construction and Maintenance, Strategic Use of Art and Architecture in Self Representation and Politics, Cross-Cultural Exchange of Artistic Motifs and Technological Transmission, Ancient Art and Archaeology in Museum Collections, Egyptian Intermediate Periods. She just published Immigration and Borders in Ancient Egypt. Elements in Ancient Egypt in Context, (Cambridge University Press) and is working on The Hyksos and Immigrant Communities in the Second Millennium BCE: Foreign Identities and Their Impact on Egypt.
True Colors: Racecraft in the Archaeology of Egypt and Sudan
Dr. Uroš Matić, University of Graz, Austria
This paper examines how ideas about “race” have shaped the study of ancient Egypt and Sudan from the nineteenth century to the present. Rather than treating race as a biological fact, it uses the concept of “racecraft” of Karen Fields and Barbara J. Fields to show how race developed as a changing set of assumptions and interpretations. Drawing on theories from the history and sociology of knowledge, especially the work of Ludwik Fleck, the study explores how racial thinking continued to influence archaeology even after it was officially rejected. Finally, the study reassesses changes in ancient Egyptian representations of Nubians. Earlier interpretations viewed the significant mid–Eighteenth Dynasty changes in Nubian iconography as artistic documentation of real physical features of newly encountered populations in Upper Nubia. In contrast, this paper demonstrates that these visual changes primarily reflect shifts in ancient Egyptian political and ideological strategies.I am an archaeologist and Egyptologist specialized in violence, ethnicity, gender and settlement archaeology of ancient Egypt.
He obtained my PhD at the Institute for Egyptology and Coptic studies of the University in Münster in 2017. His doctoral thesis deals with violent treatments of enemies and prisoners of war in New Kingdom Egypt. The thesis was marked with a double summa cum laude and rewarded with Philippika prize for 2018 of the German publishing house Harrassowitz. It was also awarded with the Best Publication Award of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 2020.
From 2018 to 2019 he conducted Post Doc research at the Institute for Egyptology and Coptic studies of the University of Münster on cosmetic substances and utensils in Egyptian New Kingdom Nubia. During this research he was a guest scholar at the OREA-Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. This research was conducted within the German DAAD PRIME Post Doctoral program for 2018-2019.
He was a lecturer at the University of Münster (2016-2021), University of Vienna (2022), University of Innsbruck (2024-2025) and University of Graz (2022-present).
Women of a Fractured State: First Intermediate Period Women’s Agency and Visual Literacy
Sue Kelly, Czech Institute of Egyptology, Charles University, Prague.
The dissolution of Old Kingdom centralised authority catalysed a profound evolution in women’s visual literacy, unique in Egyptian history. While Memphite tradition governed female figures through rigid, passive constraints, the fracturing of state control during the First Intermediate Period allowed women’s iconography to deviate from established canons, reflecting a more expansive visual vocabulary.
This lecture examines the emergence of female agency through the deliberate manipulation of artistic codes. Rather than a byproduct of provincialism, this transition reflects a systematic shift in women’s funerary representation. Six iconographic transitions: the adoption of male-coded striding postures; the inclusion of authoritative attributes like the staff and ankh; the renegotiation of spatial positioning on monuments; the representation of expanding social categories; the integration of active gestures; and rare chromatic anomalies, such as using red skin to signify female vitality are examined.
Furthermore, these self-presentations provide textual records of women adopting both ‘ideal’ and ‘career’ biographies—the dual pillars of Egyptian self-thematisation. By adopting these new modes of representation, women challenged Old Kingdom decorum and asserted a sophisticated, distinct presence in the visual record. These are, fundamentally, ancient female voices articulating how they chose to be commemorated for eternity.
Sue Kelly is an Egyptologist and early-career researcher whose work sits at the intersection of social theory and the material record. Her research focuses on the ‘Social Power’ of ancient Egyptian women, across the dynasties one through to eleven., employing a data-driven approach to reconstruct the agency, influence, and contributions of women within the complex hierarchy of the Old Kingdom and the First Intermediate Period. Her overarching aim is to continue the longitudinal study to map developments, transitions, and changes across the four different political environments: state formation, maturation, collapse, and reunification.
Her book, Unveiling Female Social Power (c. 3080–2180 BCE), serves as a testament to this methodology. By conducting a statistical analysis of female titles, Dr. Kelly challenges long-standing narratives that have historically marginalized women’s roles in Egyptian statehood. Her work demonstrates that female agency was not a peripheral phenomenon but a vital, functioning component of the socio-political infrastructure, measurable through the distribution of titles and the management of elite resources.
Dr. Kelly earned her PhD in 2021 and completed her initial post-doctoral fellowship in 2023 at Macquarie University, Sydney. She is currently concluding a prestigious Marie Curie Actions Fellowship at the Czech Institute of Egyptology.
There’s nothing new about that! How Egyptology can offer fresh perspectives on contemporary scientific and societal challenges
Frederik Rogner, Vienna, Austria
At the dawn of Egyptology’s third century, Egyptologists have both successfully received and adapted approaches from other fields, and themselves developed hypotheses and methods which can be fruitfully applied to the study of diverse cultural phenomena, far beyond the boundaries of Egyptology and of ancient Egypt. At the same time, Egyptological outreach that is deliberately aimed at the wider academic community and tries to actively contribute to ongoing interdisciplinary discourses, remains rather low.
This paper addresses these issues, with a particular view to the scientific and societal relevance and potential of humanities at large. I will conclude by addressing two areas where insights from Egyptology can offer perspectives and strategies for better understanding (and, as a result, dealing with) seemingly ‘new’ challenges in contemporary society, namely AI driven image production and expressions of political power.
Frederik Rogner has obtained his BA in Ancient Civilizations and his MA in Egyptology and in Classical Archaeology from the University of Basel. In 2019 he completed his binational doctoral studies at the University of Basel and the École Pratique des Hautes Études – Université Paris Sciences et Lettres. His PhD thesis deals with issues of visual narrativity and pictorial storytelling and their application in the ancient Egyptian New Kingdom. He was a member of the Graduate school of Eikones, the Center for the Theory and History of the Image in Basel. Rogner’s research interests include multimodal synergies of pictures and writing in ancient Egypt, the semantics of form and layout in two- and three-dimensional space, and the use of images as communicative tools throughout human history. He has conducted several research projects at the Netherlands Institute for the Near East (Leiden) and at the University of Geneva. He currently holds a position in the Austrian federal administration.
Contact Information:
Dr. Peter Feinman
President
AIA Westchester Society
Vice President
ARCENY Society
President
Institute of History, Archaeology, and Education
feinmanp@ihare.org

There Is More to Egypt than Tut: Challenges for Egyptology and Egyptologists
2026-05-02 10:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | 1061 Boston Post Road, Rye, New York, 10580, United States
There Is More To Egypt than Tut: Challenges for Egyptology and Egyptologists
The Archaeological Institute of America, Westchester Society, and the New York chapter of the American Research Center in Egypt are pleased to present to present the following free online symposium “There Is More To Egypt than Tut: Challenges for Egyptology and Egyptologists.”
Date: May 2, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM-1:00 PM ET.
The program is hosted by the Rye Free Reading Room. To register click here.
The purpose of the symposium is to do exactly what the title expresses. King Tutankhamun is the universal face of Egypt to the world. Egypt is blessed with an abundance of art, architecture, and writing. But there is more to the study of Egypt than material objects.
The speakers in this symposium will address issues in chronology based on the First Intermediate Period, the Hyksos based on the Second Intermediate Period, race and Nubia, women and the relation of Egyptology to other “ologies.”
There will be a ten minute break between the third and fourth speakers.
Periodization and the creation of a new Egyptian History
Thomas Schneider, Professor of Egyptology and Near Eastern Studies (on leave 2023-7),
University of British Columbia
The conventional periodization of ancient Egyptian history as a sequence of ‘kingdoms’ and ‘intermediate periods’ (and subperiods, such as “the Ramesside period”, dynasties) is a legacy of the 19th and early 20th c., partially informed by a chronological grid conveyed in Manetho’s Aigyptiaca. This conventional sequencing of history is perpetuated in all recent histories of ancient Egypt, whose narratives and summary chronological tables make something appear historical that is mere practical convention. Despite the fact that Egyptological scholarship has fundamentally changed our understanding of Egyptian history over the past 100 years, the field has never attempted any alternative historical periodization that assesses phenomena of historical (dis)continuity and cohesion based on current knowledge. This lecture will discuss the importance of periodization as a historiographical tool and chart a way forward towards a new periodization of Egyptian history.
Prior to coming to University of British Columbia in 2007, he taught at multiple institutions. From 2018-20, he was Associate Vice President (International) at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China. From 2016-7, he served in a part-time role as Advisor to the President at Quest University Canada. From 2014-8, he was a member of the UBC Senate and worked, among other projects, on a Responsible Conduct of Research Initiative by the Dean and Vice Provost, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. From 2021-2022, he was the founding Executive Director of the Pacific Alliance of Liberal Arts Colleges (PALAC). On January 1, 2023, he took up the position of Chief Executive of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (www.apru.org).
He is the founding editor of the “Journal of Egyptian History” (2008-2014) and was the editor of “Culture and History of the Ancient Near East” (Brill, 2006-2013) and “Near Eastern Archaeology” (American Schools of Oriental Research, 2012-2018).
There’s more to Egypt than Egyptians
Dani Candelora, College of Holy Cross
In Egyptology, the Hyksos are at best dismissed as an irrelevant blip in pharaonic power, and at worst vilified as the invading barbarians of Manetho’s narrative. Ongoing research, both reinvestigating well-known texts and uncovering new archaeological evidence, has shown that neither are accurate. Instead, the Hyksos were multicultural rulers with links to broader West Asian power networks, and their reigns influenced Egyptian culture in arenas from warfare to religion, technology to language. Despite being accepted as Egyptian kings by most Egyptians, and even respected by later Egyptian dynasties, the negative Theban political rhetoric has overwhelmingly colored the Hyksos’s treatment in the field. These kings are an important part of Egyptian history, and should be recognized for the legacy they left behind.
Danielle Candelora is the Assistant Professor of Classics and Egyptology at the College of Holy Cross. She received her B.A. from Brown University, her M.A. from the University of Chicago, Oriental Institute (now Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures), and her Ph.D. in Egyptian Archaeology from the University of Chicago, Oriental Institute (now Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures). Her dissertation was “Redefining the Hyksos: Immigration and Identity Negotiation in the Second Intermediate Period” and she has maintained that interest in her academic career. Her research and teaching interests are Immigration and Identity Negotiation, Egyptian/Near Eastern/Mediterranean Art, Architecture, Material Culture, and Archaeology, Interdisciplinary Theoretical Approaches to Identity, Border Construction and Maintenance, Strategic Use of Art and Architecture in Self Representation and Politics, Cross-Cultural Exchange of Artistic Motifs and Technological Transmission, Ancient Art and Archaeology in Museum Collections, Egyptian Intermediate Periods. She just published Immigration and Borders in Ancient Egypt. Elements in Ancient Egypt in Context, (Cambridge University Press) and is working on The Hyksos and Immigrant Communities in the Second Millennium BCE: Foreign Identities and Their Impact on Egypt.
True Colors: Racecraft in the Archaeology of Egypt and Sudan
Dr. Uroš Matić, University of Graz, Austria
This paper examines how ideas about “race” have shaped the study of ancient Egypt and Sudan from the nineteenth century to the present. Rather than treating race as a biological fact, it uses the concept of “racecraft” of Karen Fields and Barbara J. Fields to show how race developed as a changing set of assumptions and interpretations. Drawing on theories from the history and sociology of knowledge, especially the work of Ludwik Fleck, the study explores how racial thinking continued to influence archaeology even after it was officially rejected. Finally, the study reassesses changes in ancient Egyptian representations of Nubians. Earlier interpretations viewed the significant mid–Eighteenth Dynasty changes in Nubian iconography as artistic documentation of real physical features of newly encountered populations in Upper Nubia. In contrast, this paper demonstrates that these visual changes primarily reflect shifts in ancient Egyptian political and ideological strategies.
Uroš Matić is a lecturer in Egyptology at the Department of Classics, University of Graz. He specializes in war in ancient Egypt, ancient Egyptian interrelations, and settlement and gender archaeologies. Matić obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Münster in 2017 and received two prizes: the Philippika Prize of Harrassowitz (2018) and the Best Publication Award of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (2020).
He held a P.R.I.M.E. fellowship from the German Academic Exchange Service (2018–2019) and grants from the Foundation for Postgraduates in Egyptology in Vienna (2016 and 2022). From 2019 to 2023, he worked as a researcher at the Austrian Archaeological Institute and in 2025 as a senior fellow at the College for Social Sciences and Humanities in Essen.Since 2026, he has been a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, studying the agency of spoils of war in ancient Egypt.
His most recent publications include Aftermath of War in Ancient Societies (Oxbow Books, 2026) and Bodies that Mattered: Ancient Egyptian Corporealities (Sidestone Press, 2025). He has taught at the Universities of Münster, Vienna, Graz, and Innsbruck.
Women of a Fractured State: First Intermediate Period Women’s Agency and Visual Literacy
Sue Kelly, Czech Institute of Egyptology, Charles University, Prague.
The dissolution of Old Kingdom centralised authority catalysed a profound evolution in women’s visual literacy, unique in Egyptian history. While Memphite tradition governed female figures through rigid, passive constraints, the fracturing of state control during the First Intermediate Period allowed women’s iconography to deviate from established canons, reflecting a more expansive visual vocabulary.
This lecture examines the emergence of female agency through the deliberate manipulation of artistic codes. Rather than a byproduct of provincialism, this transition reflects a systematic shift in women’s funerary representation. Six iconographic transitions: the adoption of male-coded striding postures; the inclusion of authoritative attributes like the staff and ankh; the renegotiation of spatial positioning on monuments; the representation of expanding social categories; the integration of active gestures; and rare chromatic anomalies, such as using red skin to signify female vitality are examined.
Furthermore, these self-presentations provide textual records of women adopting both ‘ideal’ and ‘career’ biographies—the dual pillars of Egyptian self-thematisation. By adopting these new modes of representation, women challenged Old Kingdom decorum and asserted a sophisticated, distinct presence in the visual record. These are, fundamentally, ancient female voices articulating how they chose to be commemorated for eternity.
Sue Kelly is an Egyptologist and early-career researcher whose work sits at the intersection of social theory and the material record. Her research focuses on the ‘Social Power’ of ancient Egyptian women, across the dynasties one through to eleven., employing a data-driven approach to reconstruct the agency, influence, and contributions of women within the complex hierarchy of the Old Kingdom and the First Intermediate Period. Her overarching aim is to continue the longitudinal study to map developments, transitions, and changes across the four different political environments: state formation, maturation, collapse, and reunification.
Her book, Unveiling Female Social Power (c. 3080–2180 BCE), serves as a testament to this methodology. By conducting a statistical analysis of female titles, Dr. Kelly challenges long-standing narratives that have historically marginalized women’s roles in Egyptian statehood. Her work demonstrates that female agency was not a peripheral phenomenon but a vital, functioning component of the socio-political infrastructure, measurable through the distribution of titles and the management of elite resources.
Dr. Kelly earned her PhD in 2021 and completed her initial post-doctoral fellowship in 2023 at Macquarie University, Sydney. She is currently concluding a prestigious Marie Curie Actions Fellowship at the Czech Institute of Egyptology.
There’s nothing new about that! How Egyptology can offer fresh perspectives on contemporary scientific and societal challenges
Frederik Rogner, Vienna, Austria
At the dawn of Egyptology’s third century, Egyptologists have both successfully received and adapted approaches from other fields, and themselves developed hypotheses and methods which can be fruitfully applied to the study of diverse cultural phenomena, far beyond the boundaries of Egyptology and of ancient Egypt. At the same time, Egyptological outreach that is deliberately aimed at the wider academic community and tries to actively contribute to ongoing interdisciplinary discourses, remains rather low.
This paper addresses these issues, with a particular view to the scientific and societal relevance and potential of humanities at large. I will conclude by addressing two areas where insights from Egyptology can offer perspectives and strategies for better understanding (and, as a result, dealing with) seemingly ‘new’ challenges in contemporary society, namely AI driven image production and expressions of political power.
Frederik Rogner has obtained his BA in Ancient Civilizations and his MA in Egyptology and in Classical Archaeology from the University of Basel. In 2019 he completed his binational doctoral studies at the University of Basel and the École Pratique des Hautes Études – Université Paris Sciences et Lettres. His PhD thesis deals with issues of visual narrativity and pictorial storytelling and their application in the ancient Egyptian New Kingdom. He was a member of the Graduate school of Eikones, the Center for the Theory and History of the Image in Basel. Rogner’s research interests include multimodal synergies of pictures and writing in ancient Egypt, the semantics of form and layout in two- and three-dimensional space, and the use of images as communicative tools throughout human history. He has conducted several research projects at the Netherlands Institute for the Near East (Leiden) and at the University of Geneva. He currently holds a position in the Austrian federal administration.
Contact Information:
Dr. Peter Feinman
President
AIA Westchester Society
Vice President
ARCENY Society
President
Institute of History, Archaeology, and Education
feinmanp@ihare.org

Book Talk with Sam Kean
2026-05-04 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Chicago) | Virtual Event, hosted by Nashville Parthenon & AIA-Nashville Society, TN, United States
Parthenon Symposium: Book Talk with Sam Kean Author of Dinner with King Tut
Monday, May 4, at 5:00 PM Central
Join author Sam Kean for a firsthand account of his adventures in experimental archaeology while writing Dinner with King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists are Re-creating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations.
In his most recent book, Sam Kean joined experimental archaeologists across the globe to fire medieval catapults, perform surgery and tattooing with ancient methods, build Roman-style roads, play ball like an Aztec, and feast Egyptian-style. These eccentric-sounding adventures are part of a serious undertaking—an attempt to recreate the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of ancient cultures. The details of what it was like to live in other times are often forgotten when we study history through famous monuments. As the world’s only full-scale replica of the ancient building, Nashville’s Parthenon serves as a suitable backdrop for an immersive look at ancient cultures.
Registration on Zoom required: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rAnKC38dQfKMmGOSJo39JA#/registration
Following this talk there will be an in-person discussion (author joins virtually) on Monday, May 4, 6 PM.

Spectacles of Cultural Heritage Destruction in Global Media
2026-05-04 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | https://www.archaeological.org/event/spectacles-of-cultural-heritage-destruction-in-global-media-2/
Charles Eliot Norton Memorial Lectureship

Book Club: Dinner with King Tut
2026-05-04 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | Centennial Park Conservancy, Parks Permit Office at 2565 Park Plaza, Nashville, TN 37203., Centennial Park Conservancy, Parks Permit Office, 2565 Park Plaza, Nashville, Tennessee, 37203, United States
AIA-Nashville Society Book Club
Join us for a free Parthenon Book Club meeting on Monday, May 4, at 6 PM. This event is free and open to the public, with RSVP required. All are welcome. RSVP required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/parthenon-book-club-dinner-with-king-tut-tickets-1975611659656?aff=oddtdtcreator
*Due to HVAC renovation at the Parthenon, this event will take place at the Parks Permit Office at 2565 Park Plaza, Nashville, TN 37203.
THIS QUARTER’S BOOK SELECTION: We will be discussing Dinner with King Tut by Sam Kean. Reserve your seat with a free RSVP. Looking to purchase the book? Head over to Parnassus Books and mention the Archaeological Institute of America-Nashville Society book club at the Parthenon for a 10% discount.
ABOUT THE BOOK: Dinner with King Tut by Sam Kean
Description from Nashville Public Library:
From “one of America’s smartest and most charming writers” (NPR), an archaeological romp through the entire history of humankind–and through all five senses–from tropical Polynesian islands to forbidding arctic ice floes, and everywhere in between.
Whether it’s the mighty pyramids of Egypt or the majestic temples of Mexico, we have a good idea of what the past looked like. But what about our other senses: The tang of Roman fish sauce and the springy crust of Egyptian sourdough? The boom of medieval cannons and the clash of Viking swords? The frenzied plays of an Aztec ballgame…and the chilling reality that the losers might also lose their lives?
History often neglects the tastes, textures, sounds, and smells that were an intimate part of our ancestors’ lives, but a new generation of researchers is resurrecting those hidden details, pioneering an exciting new discipline called experimental archaeology. These are scientists gone rogue: They make human mummies. They investigate the unsolved murders of ancient bog bodies. They carve primitive spears and go hunting, then knap their own obsidian blades to skin the game. They build perilous boats and plunge out onto the open sea–all in the name of experiencing history as it was, with all its dangers, disappointments, and unexpected delights.
Beloved author Sam Kean joins these experimental archaeologists on their adventures across the globe, from the Andes to the South Seas. He fires medieval catapults, tries his hand at ancient surgery and tattooing, builds Roman-style roads–and, in novelistic interludes, spins gripping tales about the lives of our ancestors with vivid imagination and his signature meticulous research. Lively, offbeat, and filled with stunning revelations about our past, Dinner with King Tut sheds light on days long gone and the intrepid experts resurrecting them today, with startling, lifelike detail and more than a few laughs along the way.
2026 BOOK CLUB DATES: RSVP!
Monday, August 3, 2026 – Helen of Troy, 1993 by Maria Zoccola
Monday, November 2, 2026 – The Rescue Artist by Edward Dolnick

Film Screening: La Chimera
2026-05-07 17:30 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Whitman College, Kimball Theatre, 324 Boyer Ave, Walla Walla, WA, 99362, United States
Please join the local chapter of the AIA (Archaeological Institute of America) for a screening of the award-winning film, La Chimera (2023).
A masterpiece of magical realism, this independent-film (written and directed by Alice Rohrwacher) will take us on a journey through multiple afterlives… the ancient erupting through the modern. The fable follows a rumpled English archaeologist named Arthur, and his merry, wayward crew of tombaroli — who survive by looting ancient-Etruscan tombs. Yet there are larger quests involved. They are at once mythic, illusory, and unobtainable, and they bring into collision the worlds of antiquities-trafficking, the priceless-priced, and the search for lost love.
There will be an informal reception with popcorn, cookies, and non-alcoholic beverages at 5:30pm. The film will begin at 6pm and will be followed by another opportunity to mingle and converse. This event is free and open to the public. Brought to you by the Whitman College History Department.

New Discoveries in the Anubis-Mountain Royal Necropolis at Abydos
2026-05-09 15:30 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Penn Museum, 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, United States
Saturday, May 9
3:30 pm EST
In-person only at the Penn Museum, Anthro Classroom 345
No registration required
Speaker: Prof. Josef Wegner, Curator Penn Museum. Professor of Egyptian Archaeology, Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures, University of Pennsylvania
Title: New Discoveries in the Anubis-Mountain Royal Necropolis at Abydos
Abstract:
The most recent excavations of the University of Pennsylvania Museum at South Abydos have revealed new evidence for the long-term development of the royal necropolis anciently known as Anubis-Mountain. Initiated by King Senwosret III, ca. 1850 BCE the site continued to develop over several centuries with additional tombs added by kings of the late Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period. Fourteen royal tombs have now been identified. The recent (January 2025) discovery of a large Second Intermediate Period royal tomb has added new evidence on this later group of kings that includes Woseribre Seneb-Kay whose tomb and burial was excavated in 2014. Expanding excavations in recent seasons have provided new insights into how, and why, the Anubis-Mountain necropolis continued to attract kings from ca. 1850-1600 BCE.
Ongoing excavations at South Abydos in the royal necropolis named Anubis-Mountain in ancient times are adding new insights into the development of this site. Tombs of fourteen kings are now known. The most recent discoveries include a new tomb, the largest yet identified of the Second Intermediate Period. Other results are helping to explain how and why Anubis-Mountain became an important royal burial ground ca. 1850-1600 BCE.
Speaker Bio:
Josef Wegner is Professor of Egyptian Archaeology, and current Department Chair in the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also Curator in the Egyptian Section of the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. He received his PhD in 1996 on the topic of the development of the Osiris cult at Abydos. He has been excavating at Abydos since 1994 were he and his team have been documenting the ruins of the funerary complex of Pharaoh Senwosret III of Egypt’s 12th Dynasty. These excavations include the Middle Kingdom town of Wah-Sut as well as the royal cemetery named Anubis-Mountain. Discoveries at Anubis Mountain include the tomb of King Seneb-Kay, as well as other tombs of rulers of the Abydos Dynasty. Dr. Wegner’s work has focused primarily on the archaeology of Egypt’s Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period. Dr. Wegner’s books include: The Mortuary Temple of Senwosret III at Abydos (2007); Archaism and Innovation, Studies in the Culture of Middle Kingdom Egypt (2007); Akhenaten and Tutankhamun: Revolution and Restoration (2009); The Sphinx that Travelled to Philadelphia: the Story of the Colossal Sphinx of Ramses the Great in the Penn Museum (2015); The Sunshade Chapel of Princess Meritaten from the House of Waenre of Pharaoh Akhenaten (2016); King Seneb-Kay’s Tomb and the Necropolis of a Lost Dynasty at Abydos (2021). Together with Dr. Jennifer Wegner and other members of the Penn Museum’s Egyptian Section, Dr. Wegner is co-curator of the soon to open (2026) reinstallation of the Museum’s Ancient Egypt and Nubia Galleries.
******************
Lectures are FREE to ARCE Members, $7 for University of Pennsylvania Museum Members and UPenn Staff and Faculty, $5 for Students with ID, and $10 for the general public.
Light refreshments served starting at 3pm.
******************
The American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) is a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1948 by a consortium of educational and cultural institutions to support research on all aspects of Egyptian history and culture, foster broader knowledge among the general public, and strengthen American-Egyptian cultural ties. The ARCE Pennsylvania Chapter (ARCE-PA) is the local branch of the national institution. We host monthly events including scholarly lectures, Egyptian-themed workshops, social events, and guided tours of the Penn Museum’s Egyptian galleries. For more information or to learn about the perks of membership, please send an e-mail to info@arce-pa.org, or visit our website at www.arce-pa.org.

Book Talk with Mary Beard
2026-05-10 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Chicago) | Paschall Theater @ Montgomery Bell Academy 4001 Harding PikeNashville, TN, 37205United States, Paschall Theater, Montgomery Bell Academy, 4001 Harding Pike, Nashville, TN, 37205, United States
Parthenon Symposium: Book Talk with Mary Beard Author of Talking Classics: The Shock of the Old
Sunday May 10, 2:00 PM Central, at the Paschall Theater
AIA-Nashville Society and the Parthenon are proud to partner with Montgomery Bell Academy to welcome Mary Beard to the “Athens of the South”! Join distinguished classicist Mary Beard for a talk on her most recent exploration of the relevance of the ancient world in our contemporary lives. RSVP required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/book-talk-with-mary-beard-tickets-1984904305209?aff=oddtdtcreator
In her newest book, Mary Beard explores our ongoing fascination with the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, starting with a personal, childhood encounter with a very old piece of bread on display in a museum. From this, she introduces the idea of the wonder, or “thauma,” that drew her into a lifetime of trying to understand everyday lives in the remote past. She confronts the uses and abuses of symbols from the ancient world, reminding us that although the ancient world is often politicized, it does not belong to partisans. She argues that the classics remain relevant because they teach us to debate complex and difficult topics. She welcomes everyone into classics, bringing curiosity and wonder to the study of the past.
Talk is free and open to the public with an RSVP. Copies of Mary Beard’s new book Talking Classics: The Shock of the Old will be available onsite for purchase through Parnassus Books while supplies last. There will be a signing line following the talk where books can be signed and/or personalized.
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/book-talk-with-mary-beard-tickets-1984904305209?aff=oddtdtcreator
About the speaker:
Mary Beard is a distinguished classicist, bestselling author, and popular commentator, known for her pioneering scholarship and for her witty approach to making antiquity accessible. She is a professor emerita of classics at the University of Cambridge, a fellow of Newnham College, and professor of Ancient Literature at the Royal Academy, with many additional international academic distinctions. She has served as the classics editor of the Times Literary Supplement. Her books include The Parthenon, one of the most readable accounts of the thousands of years of use and re-use of the ancient Greek building. Among many other wide-ranging works, she is the author of SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome; Women and Power: A Manifesto; and How Do We Look: the Body, the Divine, and the Question of Civilization.
About the book: Talking Classics: The Shock of the Old by Mary Beard
Why the ongoing fascination with the ancient world? This witty, approachable book asks why—for better or (sometimes) worse—antiquity continues to exert such a powerful hold on the contemporary imagination. Recalling a formative childhood encounter with a four-thousand-year-old piece of bread in a museum, Beard introduces the idea of thauma, or wonder, that kick-started a lifetime engaging with classics. It was not the canonical “greats” of ancient literature and art that initially drew her in, she confesses, but rather the more intimate, messy, and humdrum evidence of daily life in the remote past.
Confronting the uses and abuses of symbols of the ancient world, Beard reminds us that the traditions and “masterpieces” of Greece and Rome have certainly been politicized, but they belong to neither the left nor the right. Happily, no one owns the past. She warns us not to let a sense of reverence or overfamiliarity dampen the “shock of the old,” arguing that one of the most important things that classics teach us is how to grapple with complicated and controversial things. “The Greeks and Romans are long dead, they cannot answer back, and you can say what you like about them,” she reminds readers. “The simple fact that classics belong to none of us can offer a safe space to argue about the most difficult debates we face now.”
Beard welcomes everyone into classics. “It is not compulsory to be excited by the ancient world,” she writes. “But it can be a shame not to be.” This charming, sharp, and readable book from one of the world’s most entertaining classicists offers something for both new and established fans of classics, bringing new wonder and curiosity to even the most ancient of ideas.

Online conference on worked shells in the ancient world. Material, use, typology, chronology and contexts in honour of Jean-Paul Descœudres, University of Sydney
2026-05-20 | Izmir, Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi, Edebiyat Fakültesi, Izmir, Buca, 35160, Turkey
Dear Colleagues,
We are glad to inform you that an international e-conference on worked shells in the ancient world (material, use, typology, chronology and context) will take place on May 20, 2026 on Zoom.us. This forthcoming online meeting will be an archaeomalacological workshop in honour of Jean-Paul Descœudres from the Universities of Geneva and Sydney. Papers are invited to present evidence of human collection and modification of shells from all over the ancient world (especially the Mediterranean) and over a large chronological range (from Prehistory to Antiquity with a focus on the Roman world). We are interested in worked shells rather than those used as food or as environmental indicators. Our subject groups are as follows: Phylum Mollusca, mollusc shells, mother-of-pearl, purple-dye production, archaeomalacology, archaeozoology, archaeological raw materials, archaeological artefacts, archaeological small finds, archaeological science, conservation of archaeological shells, physical anthropology, osteoarchaeology, bioarchaeology, palaeohistology, ancient history, history of art and cultural anthropology etc.
An abstract of the proposed contribution should be sent to the organizers by February 1, 2026 at the latest. The Proceedings of the conference will be published in a forthcoming issue of the journal “Mediterranean Achaeology”, cf. .
Ancient worked shells were found in relatively large quantities in the entire Mediterranean, from Spain to Syria and Egypt to France, where they were manufactured between the Neolithic and Medieval periods. However, the spectrum of the worked shells recovered from Anatolia, the Near East, the Black Sea area and the Balkans is very varied, and reflects different characteristics of ancient daily life. In this conference papers dealing with ancient artefacts or objects manufactured from shells or mother of pearl will be included. The main material groups made by shells are as follows: items connected to personal grooming, artefacts used for spinning or in pottery decoration, artefacts related to cosmetics, jewellery, combs, pins for clothing and women’s hair, items related to dressmaking and textile (particularly sewing needles, weaving implements or buttons), amulets and other magical items, knife handles, frames of various kinds (e.g., of mirrors), furniture (including fittings, wood sidings and inlayed decoration), boxes, plaques, liturgical and religious items (e.g., crosses and reliquaries), half-finished products and miscellanea.
So far the study of this material group has been overlooked, whereas there is still a huge amount of unpublished material from excavations, field surveys and museums in the entire ancient world. There is a regular conference series of the ICAZ Archaeomalacology Working Group (AMWG; cf. ) which includes almost all periods and areas. In our e-meeting in 2026 we attempt to set out a comprehensive model for the study of worked shells, including their definition, typology, chronology, contexts, function, regional characteristics, production and distribution patterns in the ancient world, and more particularly in the Mediterranean, the Near East, the Black Sea area and the Balkans. The increasing number of recent finds in these areas over the last thirty years, thanks to the development of preventive archaeology, has tended to challenge our previous observations and assumptions on worked shells.
It is also our intention to create a complete bibliography of previous publications on worked shells for several areas and chronologies.
We warmly invite contributions by scholars and graduate students from a variety of disciplines related to this material group. Intended to bring together scholars of instrumenta archaeology to discuss a range of issues concerning this material group’s characteristics, this video conference should be an excellent opportunity to increase our knowledge about ancient worked shells. The following theme groups relate to the main questions the conference aims to address:
– Worked shells, Phylum Mollusca, mollusc shells, mother-of-pearl and material related to purple-dye production from archaeological field projects, museums and private collections, for example, Tridacnae shells that are occasionally encountered in the literature as objects found in the Mediterranean and Near East, i.e., large shells, decorated with carvings and/or traces of paint,
– Graeco-Roman worked shells in comparison with the worked shells of the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic periods, Bronze and Iron Ages,
– Graeco-Roman worked shells in comparison with the Minoan and Mycenaean worked shells,
– Etymology of worked shells in ancient Near Eastern, eastern Mediterranean and Aegean languages,
– Ancient Greek, Latin and Byzantine textual sources on worked shells,
– Shell depictions on ancient Greek and Roman visual sources (for example on frescoes),
– Typological evolution and design of worked shells,
– Selection criteria for some certain animal genres for shell-working,
– Decoration of worked shells, as detailed chronologies should be established for both the produced forms and their decoration,
– Chronologies of these objects that can highlight the social spread of these products,
– Manufacturing techniques, manufacturing tools, major production centres and workshops of worked shells, their organisation and interactions.
– Distribution of worked shells, economic and social aspects: in what type of socio-economic context are they found?,
– Typological and functional features of worked shells: what might the utilitarian, social and/or symbolic functions or practices of these objects have been?
– Identification of the economic factors that contributed to the standardization in the shell-working,
– Commodities and their trade through worked shells,
– Relations of worked shells to other bone, metal, terracotta, glass, wooden or stone objects: how did this material group fit in with objects made from different materials, particularly metal, glass, or wood? Can any stylistic links be found between them?
– Conservation of worked shells, especially excavated finds: current strategies and future approaches,
– Archaeometric analyses of these objects,
– Miscellanea.
A special focus of the conference is the identification of workshops from different regions, cities and areas, in particular capital cities (such as Byzantium, Ephesus, Pergamum, Antioch-on-the-Orontes, Alexandria, Athens, Rome etc.).
Another important topic is the manufacturing techniques which were varied and depended on the composition and morphology of each raw material type as much as on the artefact to be produced. Regardless of the raw material, the manufacturing process of an ancient shell object was usually multi-stage:
1. Selection and acquisition of the raw material;
2. Preparation of the raw material, including cleaning, drying and cutting into pieces;
3. The appropriate working processes using instruments like knives, chisels, files, lathes and bow-drills;
4. Finishing the worked objects by grinding, polishing and colouring.
The finds suggest that manufacturing techniques were related to organized production where the different manufacturing stages were standardized and predefined, which can be identified as a chaîne opératoire. Particular attention should be paid to these technical aspects, which are the integral parts of the uniqueness of most of the ancient worked shells.
We also need to look at the distribution of these objects on a local, regional, and even supra-regional scale, and trade networks. Some have crossed overseas; how can these exchanges be explained?
Our conference is primarily virtual, and will take place on Zoom; but if any participant wishes to come to Izmir, she/he is welcome to present her/his paper in our conference room to the audience which will also be livestreamed and broadcast simultaneously on Zoom.
All the readings and discussions in our e-conference will be in English, and recorded for later viewing as a podcast on YouTube. The proceedings of the conference will be published in a forthcoming issue of “Mediterranean Achaeology”. The conference is free of charge.
We would be delighted, if you could consider contributing to our conference and contact us with the registration form below until February 1, 2026. Our e-mail address is paphlagonia@deu.edu.tr
For all your queries concerning the conference our phone and WhatsApp number is +90.544.540 78 34. The organizers seek to widen participation at this conference, and would like to encourage colleagues from all parts of the world to attend. We kindly request that you alert any interested researches, colleagues and students within your research community who would be interested in participating at this e-conference, either by forwarding our first circular and poster through your Academia, Researchgate, Instagram, X, YouTube, Facebook accounts, or other similar social media, or by printing them and displaying in your institutions.
We hope that you will be able to join us on Zoom, and look forward to seeing you!

Why Has African Archeology Been Ignored
2026-05-23 12:00 - 13:30 (America/New_York)
Deepening our understanding of African heritage often starts in spaces that celebrate our history, but while museums house these stories, it is archaeology that unearths them.
While the world is well-acquainted with the architectural wonders of the Mediterranean and the Near East, the vast archaeological landscape of the African continent has often remained on the periphery of global conversation. This session is designed to explore the structural, logistical, and historical reasons behind this gap in our shared human story.
From the complexities of preserving heritage in diverse climates to the economic challenges of long-term excavation, we will look at the practical hurdles that have shaped the field of African archaeology, highlight the groundbreaking work currently being done to bring these ignored narratives back into the global spotlight, and explore opportunities for youth in Africa to participate in fieldwork across the continent and build careers in heritage preservation, culture advocacy, and archaeology.
Join us this May and connect with a continental and international community of storytellers, historians, archaeologists, culture advocates and heritage enthusiasts working to ensure Archaeology in Africa takes center stage in global discourse.
What to Expect:
1. The Logistical Landscape: An overview of the unique challenges of archaeological research on the continent.
2. Beyond the Surface: A look at sophisticated ancient African innovations in metallurgy, urban planning, and trade.
3. The Tech Revolution: How new technologies like satellite imaging and 3D mapping are revealing sites that were previously inaccessible.
4. Future Directions: A discussion on the importance of diversifying the global archaeological record for a more complete understanding of history.

AIA Northern Italy: Archaeology, Culture & Cuisine tour
2026-09-06 - 2026-10-17
Traverse northern Italy, with the grand Italian Alps as your backdrop, enjoying the depths of its history and the great diversity of architecture, traditions, and gastronomy found in three
distinct regions: Lombardy, Veneto, and Friuli Venezia Giulia. On this west-east journey from Milan to Trieste you will explore classic old towns and discover off-the-beaten-track sites, including a stop at the site of Hannibal’s first major victory in Italy; and visits to Roman villas and temples at Sirmione, Desenzano, and Brescia. Visit five UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Valcamonica’s famous prehistoric petroglyphs, Roman and early Christian Aquileia, the well-preserved city of Verona, landmarks of Lombard Italy in Cividale del Friuli, and an example of prehistoric pile dwellings at Lucone di Polpenazze. Along the way, you will be treated to insightful discussions with your AIA lecturer/host and a variety of striking vistas: plains, lakes, mountains, and the Adriatic Sea; plus enjoy delicious cuisine and an ideal touring pace (including two hotel nights in Milan, five on Lake Garda, and three in Trieste).

AIA UNESCO Treasures of Ancient Greece Circumnavigating the Peloponnese by Private Luxury Yacht + pre & post-tour options
2026-09-17 - 2026-09-26
On this special circumnavigation of Greece’s Peloponnese peninsula in the company of two special AIA lecturers and hosts, archaeologists Jack Davis and Shari Stocker. You will spend a night in Athens and then cruise around the Peloponnese aboard the luxurious, 50-cabin Emerald Azzurra for seven nights. Along the way, Jack and Shari will be part of a team of onboard experts who together will offer a series of lectures and informal discussions. This cruise, aboard this ship, with these experts, is an unmatched way to experience a beautiful and deeply historical part of Greece that is filled with archaeological delights. Your adventure begins with a night in the heart of historic Athens and a private visit to either the Goulandris Museum
of Cycladic Art or the Benaki Museum of Greek Culture. Then you will embark Emerald Azzurra, whose sleek design grants access to hidden harbors and a rare, full circumnavigation of the Peloponnese peninsula. Along the way, visit five UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Mycenae, the fabled Bronze Age citadel; Epidaurus, known for its perfectly preserved ancient theater; Mystras, a remarkable Byzantine city; Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games; and Delphi, once home to the most influential
oracle in the ancient world. Perhaps the highlight of the program will be our special access — thanks to Jack and Shari — at Nestor’s Palace at Pylos, one of Greece’s best-preserved Mycenaean palaces. Between guided visits, explore coastal towns such as Nafplion, Gythio, and Pylos, each with deep historical roots. Conclude the voyage with a spectacular passage through the Corinth Canal before returning to Athens. Also available are a two-night, pre-tour extension in Athens and a four-night,
post-tour extension cruise in the Aegean.
Highlights include:
-Visit five UNESCO World Heritage Sites with expert local guides: Epidaurus, Mycenae, Mystras, Olympia, and Delphi.
-Transit the Corinth Canal, whose history extends back into classical times, including an unsuccessful attempt to build it in the 1st century A.D.
-Cruise for seven nights aboard the luxurious Emerald Azzurra, a state-of-the-art mega-yacht privately chartered and expertly staffed for unparalleled comfort and service.
-Gain special access to one of the most important Mycenaean sites in Greece, Nestor’s Palace at Pylos, where our AIA lecturers have done extensive fieldwork and made extraordinary finds.
-Wander through charming seaside towns like Nafplion, Gythio, and Pylos, where cobblestone streets, whitewashed buildings, and vibrant harbors create picturesque settings perfect for exploration.
OPTIONAL PRE-TRIP EXTENSION: TUESDAY–FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15–18 , 2026 (Athens Greece)
Depart home on an overnight flight to Athens, Greece. Arrive Wednesday, September 16, and transfer to the centrally located Athens Capital Hotel—MGallery Collection. Experience the treasures our AIA study leaders who will enrich your visit with their expertise. Explore ancient landmarks from the bustling Agora and lively Plaka to the iconic Acropolis and its acclaimed museum. Savor authentic Greek meals, visit the National Archaeological Museum, and enjoy time to discover this vibrant city at your own pace.
OPTIONAL POST-TRIP EXTENSION: SATURDAY-WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 26 -30, 2026 (Athens, Cape Sounion, Delos, Mykonos, KuŞadasi Turkiye, Herakalion, Crete, Greece and Knossos)
LIMITED AVAILABILITY Remain in your cabin for an additional four-night cruise through the Aegean Sea, exploring the region’s most iconic ancient sites with expert local guides. This extension must be booked with the main program to ensure the same
cabin throughout.

AIA Romans & Moors in Morocco & Spain tour
2026-09-18 - 2026-09-29
Trace the layered history of the western Mediterranean on a journey through Morocco and Spain, where Roman, Islamic, and Christian civilizations shaped enduring cultural landscapes. From Morocco’s Roman ruins and imperial cities to Andalusia’s Moorish masterpieces and Spain’s great art collections, this thoughtfully paced itinerary weaves together archaeology, architecture, and living traditions. Along the way, you will be treated to insightful discussions with your AIA lecturer/host, Patrick Hunt, whose deep field experience and engaging lectures will bring these countries’ histories vividly to life.
Tour highlights:
• Explore Morocco’s imperial cities of Rabat, Meknes, and Fes, including the medieval medinas of Fes el-Bali (“Old Fes”)
• Walk through layers of history at Rabat’s Chellah Fortress, where Phoenician, Roman, and Islamic remains converge
• Experience Andalusia’s cultural crossroads in Seville, Córdoba, and Granada, featuring palaces, mosques, cathedrals, and historic quarters
• Visit exceptional Roman sites including Volubilis, Italica, and the soaring Roman aqueduct of Segovia
• Discover UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the Alhambra, Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, Royal Alcázar of Seville, and historic city centers
• Delve into Spain’s artistic legacy with a guided visit of Madrid’s Prado Museum
• Savor regional cuisine through welcome and farewell dinners, select hosted meals, and opportunities to dine independently
• Stay in well-located 4- and 5-star hotels chosen for their quality, comfort, and proximity to key sites
This exclusive, small-group tour is limited to just 16 participants.

AIA Essential Greece by Land & Sea tour with a 4-Night Aegean Cruise & Optional post-tour extension: Peloponnese Discovery
2026-09-22 - 2026-09-30
JOURNEY THROUGH THE HEART OF CLASSICAL GREECE AND THE AEGEAN WORLD on this marvelous exploration of Athens, several Greek islands, and the vast Greco-Roman site of Ephesus, Türkiye. Begin with three nights in Athens, staying near lively Syntagma Square. Explore with expert local guides Athens’ iconic ancient landmark, the Parthenon, plus the exceptional Acropolis Museum and the Museum of Cycladic Art. Also take a full-day excursion to the stunning sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, once considered the spiritual center of the ancient world.
Highlights include:
-Visit four UNESCO World Heritage Sites with expert local guides: Athens’ Acropolis, the island of Delos, Ephesus in Türkiye, and Crete’s Minoan Palace at Knossos.
-Delight in the antiquities and iconic sites in Athens such as climbing the Acropolis and visiting the Acropolis Museum while accompanied by expert guides.
-Cruise with AIA study leaders for four nights aboard the luxurious Emerald Azzurra, a privately chartered mega-yacht built, appointed, and staffed at the highest levels of comfort and service.
-Swim in azure waters surrounding the beautiful island of Mykonos and explore its beautiful cobblestone streets.
-Venture to Türkiye to walk the ancient streets of Ephesus, where the Greco-Roman world comes alive at one of the most complete classical cities in the Mediterranean.
-Wander the impressive ruins at Knossos in Crete, a spectacular Bronze Age site known as Europe’s oldest city.
OPTIONAL POST-TOUR EXTENSION: 9/30 to 10/3, 2026
Peloponnese Discovery Continue your journey with three nights in Greece’s Peloponnese, a region where layers of history unfold amid striking landscapes. Explore the ruins of Corinth, stand before the legendary citadel of Mycenae, and marvel
at the ancient theater of Epidaurus, celebrated for its remarkable acoustics. Balance these encounters with time to unwind in the seaside beauty of Nafplion. Conclude your travels in Athens with a visit to the National Archaeological Museum, home to one of the world’s most important collections of ancient art.

AIA Prehistoric Cave Art of Spain & France tour
2026-09-23 - 2026-10-05
Investigate southwestern Europe’s most extraordinary prehistoric caves, including Lascaux IV, a new, exact reproduction of one of the most remarkable prehistoric sites ever discovered; Altamira II, a precise replica of the original that is often called the “Sistine Chapel of Prehistoric Art”; Atapuerca, the most significant early human site in western Europe; Las Monedas Cave and Cueva del Castillo, where 455 animal likenesses were painted and engraved some 22,000-14,000 years ago, but other motifs such as hand stencils and red dots have been dated to more than 40,000 years ago, meaning that they may well have been made by Neanderthals; Cougnac, which features paintings of extinct megaloceros and mammoth; Pech Merle, known for its “negative handprints”; and others.
Highlights include:
• Enjoy excellent accommodations in fine hotels and charming inns, as well as fine wine and cuisine.
• Travel with world-renowned archaeological author Paul Bahn, a gifted and popular lecturer who regularly leads tours to study the prehistory of Spain and France, including this program. Dr. Bahn will enhance your understanding of the sites with lectures and informal discussions.
• Tour archaeological and ethnographic museums with superb exhibits of prehistoric artifacts, including the Museum of Human Evolution in Burgos, Altamira Museum, Museum of Les Eyzies, and the Museé d’Aquitaine; plus the modern art collections of Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum.
• Explore charming villages and cities, including Santillana del Mar and San Sebastián.

AIA Crete & the Cycladic Islands: Archaeological Gems of the Aegean tour
2026-09-27 - 2026-10-11
Step back in time to explore the island of Crete, center of the Minoan civilization during the Bronze Age, as well as the nearby Cycladic Islands of Santorini, Mykonos, and Delos. Marvel at the physical evidence of this first advanced civilization in Europe, which created palace complexes, stunning works of art, a unique writing system called Linear A, and an extensive trade network. You will stay in comfortable, four- and five-star hotels, perfect for exploring or just relaxing, with nine nights on Crete in the capital city of Heraklion and in the lovely coastal towns of Agios Nikolaos and Rethymnon, plus two nights on whitewashed Santorini and two nights on chic Mykonos.
Highlights include:
• Four of the six sites on Crete that comprise the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Minoan Palatial Centers”: Knossos, Phaistos, Malia, and Zominthos.
• Santorini’s ancient Minoan town of Akrotiri, which was well-preserved for millennia under volcanic ash and today paints a picture of life before the island’s 2nd-millennium B.C. eruption.
• The island of Delos, most sacred of the islands in the ancient Aegean, which grew from a sanctuary of Apollo into a major hub of commerce.
• Crete’s nearby islands of Mochlos, with a long archaeological past including a Minoan town; and Spinalonga, a former leper colony with a 16th-century Venetian fortress.
• A variety of Minoan villas, houses, and towns, including the “royal villa” of Agia Triada, the houses at Tylissos, and the vast town of Gournia.
• The Venetian port towns of Chania and Rethymnon, with their charming old towns, and Rethymnon’s 16th-century Fortezza, a grand fortress built to defend the city against the Ottomans.
• Several excellent museums, including the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, housing the world’s finest collection of Minoan art and artifacts; and the Museum of Prehistoric Thera, with a stunning collection of artifacts and wall paintings from the ancient site of Akrotiri.
• The beauty of the cliffside, whitewashed town of Fira, Santorini; and the chic shops and narrow lanes of Chora, Mykonos.
• In addition to your knowledgeable and congenial AIA study leader, you will be accompanied by local guides and a professional tour manager who will handle all of the logistics so you can relax, enjoy, and learn.

AIA Tunisia: Phoenicians to Romans, Mosaics to Mosques tour
2026-10-01 - 2026-10-14
Join us for a comprehensive, expert-led exploration of Tunisia, a country whose layered history has shaped the Mediterranean world for more than three millennia. Traveling with archaeologist and AIA study leader Nejib ben Lazreg, we will experience all seven of Tunisia’s cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites, explore fabled cities of the Phoenicians, Romans, and early Islamic dynasties, and enjoy the comfort of exceptional accommodations throughout. From four nights along the Tunis coast to immersive visits in Dougga, Bulla Regia, Kairouan, El Djem, and Sousse, this itinerary offers an ideal balance of archaeological discovery, cultural enrichment, and thoughtful pacing. Along the way, we will benefit from Nejib ben Lazreg’s deep expertise, gaining context and insight that bring Tunisia’s monumental past vividly to life.
Highlights include:
• Travel and learn with study leader/guide and archaeologist Nejib ben Lazreg and up to 16 guests.
• Visit all seven of Tunisia’s cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
• Explore fabled Carthage, including the Antonine Baths and the cisterns.
• Spend three full days in and around Tunis, including a visit to the Bardo Museum, featuring exquisite exhibits of Roman and Byzantine mosaics.
• See the beautiful Cape Bon coast and the Punic site of Kerkouane.
• Marvel at Bulla Regia, a well-preserved site featuring underground Roman villas, a museum, a Temple of Apollo, and a 2nd-century theater.
• Tour Dougga, established prior to the Romans, with its 3,500 seat theater; Temples of Saturn, Augustan Piety, and Mercury; and Capitol.
• Discover Kairouan, the fourth holiest city in the Muslim world, founded in A.D. 670, with its carpet, leather, brass, and spice vendors; and its Great
Mosque with a three-tiered minaret.
• Visit El Djem, one of Tunisia’s most extraordinary sites, with a marvelous, 30,000-seat, ancient amphitheater and a museum that houses
lovely mosaics.
• Visit the Roman city of Sbeitla (Sufetula), one of North Africa’s best-preserved Roman cities, including several stunning 2nd-century A.D. temples and mosaic-covered Byzantine baptisteries.
• Wander through Thuburbo Majus, a sprawling site occupied in turn by Berbers, Phoenicians, and Romans. The imperial remains include the Forum, Temple of Mercury, and sunken winter baths.
