Wednesday Evenings, October 2011 through June 2012
From the knights of King Arthur’s roundtable to the deepest depths of Atlantis, some of the world’s greatest archaeological riddles have eluded us for centuries. Discover and explore these mind-boggling riddles in the next season of the Penn Museum’s popular monthly lecture series presented by current archaeologists and scholars. Mark your calendars for Great Riddles in Archaeology, offered the first Wednesday of every month, October 2011 through June 2012.
General Admission is $5 per event in advance or $10 at the door. Subscriptions to all nine events are available for $40.
Penn Museum members will receive free admission to these lectures with advanced registration only.
Wednesday, October 5th
King Arthur, Camelot and the Quest for a Holy Grail
by Dr. Richard Hodges
For centuries, the legend of King Arthur, Camelot and the quest for the Holy Grail has captivated the world. The Grail, usually thought to be the cup Jesus drank from at the Last Supper, was first introduced into the Arthurian legend in the 12th or 13th century. Since then, countless authors have re-imagined the story, creating tales of adventure, romance, friendship and betrayal. But what is the truth behind the legend? Was there really a Holy Grail, and how did it find its way to Britain and the Arthurian legend? Were Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table real historical figures? What does the archaeology of this era tell us? Dr. Richard Hodges, noted Medievalist and the Williams Director of the Penn Museum, will discuss the various legends of King Arthur and the Holy Grail, and how modern archaeologists and historians interpret them.
Wednesday, November 2nd
Noah's Ark
by Dr. Fredrik Hiebert
Of all bible stories, perhaps the story of Noah's ark and the world-ending flood are the most widely known. Modern scholars have noted the resemblance of the story to one which appears in the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh dating back to the seventh century BCE. While believers and adventurers try to find proof of the ark itself on Turkey's Mt. Ararat, scientists instead look for evidence of the localized flood that inspired the stories. Dr. Fredrik Hiebert, National Geographic Explorer was part of a team that discovered evidence of man-made structures 300 feet below the surface of the Black Sea, adding credence to theories that this was the location of the flood that inspired the biblical and Babylonian stories. Dr. Hiebert will discuss his discoveries and other modern evidence helping to shed light on the story of Noah's ark.
Wednesday, December 7th
Merlin's Magic Circles: Stonehenge and the use of the Preseli Bluestones
by Timothy Darvill of Bournemouth University, UK
Stonehenge in central southern England is known the world over as an iconic symbol of Europe’s prehistoric past. In this lecture Professor Timothy Darvill of Bournemouth University, UK, will show that while Stonehenge’s origins as a ceremonial monument were conventional enough its later history was exceptional. Key to the transformation was the arrival of about 80 pillars of Bluestone rock brought a distance of around 250km from the Preseli Hills of southwest Wales to Salisbury Plain. But why were these stones important? And what did they mean to Neolithic people? Using archaeological evidence from Stonehenge itself and from recent work in the Preseli Hills, and folklore and oral tradition dating back to the 13th century AD, a new picture of Stonehenge is emerging in which the stones themselves can be seen to have perceived magical properties connected with healing. Their re-use in later and ever more elaborate structures at Stonehenge show something of their power and significance and illustrate how the landscape of the Preseli Hills is constructed in microcosm at Stonehenge. People were attracted to the area from continental Europe, and what started out as a local focus became a celebrated place for prehistoric pilgrimage.
Wednesday, January 4th
El Dorado in the Americas: a Wild Dream or Actual Fact?
by Dr. Clark L. Erickson
Conquistadors, explorers, treasure hunters, and many others have long sought the famed El Dorado or Golden City. Throughout history, elaborate stories and myths have circulated about the existence of such a place and bits of evidence assembled to attempt to prove its reality. Professor Erickson explores the origins of El Dorado, the complex narratives that circulate, and the historical, ethnographic, and archaeological information that may help us understand the popularity of the concept of El Dorado through time.
Wednesday, February 1st
Ötzi the Iceman: The Puzzle of a 5300 Year-old Alpine Mummy
by Dr. Thomas F. Tartaron
In September 1991, two German tourists discovered a frozen body emerging from the melting ice of a glacier in the South Tyrolian Alps along the Italian-Austrian border. Although it was initially believed to be a modern corpse, it was quickly realized from the associated clothing and artifacts that the body was quite ancient, mummified naturally in the frozen environment. The discovery set off a frenetic regime of examination and testing, as well as a series of disputes about the discovery and ownership of the mummy, and even claims of a "mummy's curse."
Nicknamed "Ötzi" after the Ötz Valley in which he was found, the male mummy has been dated to approximately 5,300 years ago, during the Chalcolithic (Copper) Age. His extraordinary preservation and the full complement of clothing and belongings he carried with him have given archaeologists and other scientists a unique window onto life and death in that remote period.
Dr. Tartaron will recount the story of the discovery and subsequent investigation of Ötzi, separating fact from fiction, discuss his belongings, and summarize the results of scientific analyses. There is much that is now known about Ötzi's life, including his health, injuries and illnesses, diet including his last meals, his tattoos, and aspects of his daily activities. Recently, Ötzi's DNA has been tested to address his relationship to modern populations. The body also revealed much about how Ötzi died and how he came to be preserved for thousands of years in the ice. Much abut Ötzi remains a puzzle, but thanks to this single discovery we know infinitely more about life in the European Alps more than five millennia ago.
Wednesday, March 7th
The Ark of the Covenant: Lost, Found, or Forgotten?
by Dr. Annette Y. Reed
In biblical accounts of the wanderings of the Israelites after the Exodus and their settlement in the Promised Land, the ark of the covenant is celebrated as a dangerously powerful object - a physical locus for the holiness and worship of God. In the centuries after its placement in the Jerusalem Temple by King Solomon, however, the ark begins to recede from biblical history. What happened to it when the Temple was destroyed, and where is it today? Dr. Reed will explore ancient Jewish and Christian traditions about the ark, its contents, its power, and its fate.
Wednesday, April 4th
Atlantis: The Lost Continent?
by Dr. C. Brian Rose
When the Greek philosopher Plato first described an advanced civilization that sank beneath the ocean thousands of years ago, most listeners didn't take it seriously; but the story acquired new popularity in the 20th century, and explorers have continually looked for evidence of its existence. Dr. Rose will explore the origins and development of the myth as well as modern theories of its original location.
Wednesday, May 2nd, 6:00 pm
The Mystery of the Lost Jamestown Fort (1607-1624), the First Permanent English Settlement in North America
by Dr. Robert L. Schuyler
On May 13, 1607 three small ships landed 104 English settlers on an island in the estuary of the James River in Virginia. During May and June these colonists built the Jamestown Fort which served as an important center for the colonization of the Chesapeake between 1607 and 1624. During the 1620s the inhabitants of Jamestown moved beyond the Fort and built "New Town," abandoning living in the Fort. Jamestown continued to serve as the capitol of Virginia until 1699 when the seat of government was moved off the island to nearby Williamsburg. In the 18th century the entire site of Jamestown disappeared underground. Between 1930 and 1990 archaeologists started to create the new discipline of Historical Archaeology by working at Jamestown and other early and famous colonial sites. John L. Cotter of the Penn Museum was the second professional excavator on the island (1953-1957). All these pioneer historical archaeologists, however, worked on "New Town" and related sites because they believed that the original Jamestown Fort was gone forever, eroded into the James River. In 1994 the spectacular rediscovery of the Jamestown Fort, which subsequent extensive excavations have revealed to be over 80% in tact as a site, astonished the historical archaeological community.
The riddle of what had happened to the fort site, why it was considered lost for so many decades, and how it was finally rediscovered will be discussed in this talk along with a report on the continuing surprises coming out of the ground on Jamestown Island.
Wednesday, June 6th, 6:00 pm
The Maya and 2012: Fact, Fantasy, and Phenomenon
by Simon Martin
In recent years there has been a gathering storm of publicity surrounding an "end of time" arriving on 23 December 2012. We are told that the ancient Maya calendar will come to a conclusion, and that this will cause dramatic changes-whether regenerative or catastrophic-to our world. Books, magazines, and websites, not to mention Hollywood blockbusters, have all joined the clarion calls. But what is the story behind the disconcerting headlines? What did the ancient Maya really believe would take place on this momentous date? Using hieroglyphic texts-including some only recently unraveled-we can form a better, and truer, picture of ancient Maya beliefs about time-reckoning and the cosmos, and the 2012 phenomenon they have inspired.
