The lecture by Jack Gary (Colonial Williamsburg) scheduled for May 12 has been postponed to October 13, when we will celebrate International Archaeology Day and Virginia Archaeology Month with our first in-person lecture in more than two years! For our spring gathering, we are planning a social event at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts later this spring/summer – check back here for more information, or click on the ‘Contact’ tab and enter your information to join our email list.

Join us on Thursday, April 14 at 6:00 pm for a Zoom lecture by Dr. Leslie Reeder-Myers (Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Temple University), “Coastal Heritage and Climate Change—A Monumental Challenge to Preserve the Past in the 21st Century.”

Click here to register!

Lecture abstract:

Twenty-first century climate change threatens all kinds of cultural heritage—archaeological sites, historic monuments and buildings, traditional subsistence or cultural practices, among many others. This is especially urgent in coastal areas where the triple threat of rising sea level, more powerful coastal storms, and growing coastal populations create a monumental challenge. At the same time, though, people are placing a greater value on cultural heritage and gaining a better understanding of how precarious these resources are. In this talk, I will discuss global efforts to, first, understand the scale of the problem and, second, decide how to address it. Archaeologists cannot overcome this challenge alone, nor is it possible to save everything. We must develop strong community partnerships and think creatively about what is truly valuable in cultural heritage. I will specifically discuss my research in coastal California and the importance of partnering with indigenous communities to decide what matters most in cultural heritage.

All will be held on Thursdays at 6pm. The two lectures in the national AIA lecture program (Nov. and April) will be Zoom webinars. We will decide about the format of the others in the spring.

November 11 – Carrie Atkins (University of Toronto), “Religious Ritual on board the Greco-Roman Ship”

February 10 – Melinda Yang (University of Richmond), “Using ancient DNA to study human history – perspectives on East Asia”

March 3 – Vassiliki Panoussi (William & Mary), “The Image of Africa in Early Modern Vergil Commentaries”

April 14 – Leslie Reeder-Myers (Temple University), “Coastal Heritage and Climate Change—A Monumental Challenge to   Preserve the Past in the 21^st Century”

May 12 – Spring Member Event with Jack Gary, Director of Archaeology, Colonial Williamsburg

Join us on Zoom on Thursday, October 7 at 6 pm: Professor Marcello Canuto (Tulane University) will present exciting recent discoveries made through LiDAR survey in Guatemala: “Taking the High Ground: Lowland Maya Settlement Patterns as Seen through LiDAR”

Click here to register for the Zoom webinar

Please join us for a webinar lecture by Jeremy Pope, Associate Professor of History at the College of William and Mary: “Nubian Queen: How an Ancient African Kingdom Became a Symbol of Feminine Power and Vice Versa”

Thursday, March 18, 6:00 pm

Click here to register for the Zoom webinar

Co-sponsored by the University of Richmond Department of Classical Studies

We are later than usual in announcing our 2020-2021 lecture schedule but excited about our first-ever line-up of live online webinars, co-sponsored by the University of Richmond Department of Classical Studies. For all but the first lecture, which will be hosted by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the UR Zoom webinar registration link will be posted here and sent to our email list one week before the lecture.

Sunday, October 25, 2:30 pm
Robert Ritner (University of Chicago), “Re-Membering Osiris: Overcoming Death in Ancient Egypt” (co-sponsored with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in connection with the Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities exhibition). Register here.

Thursday, November 12, 6 pm
Patty Gerstenblith (DePaul University), “Preserving the Past: Archaeological Heritage, the Art Market and Conflict in the Middle East” (Nancy Wilkie Lectureship in Archaeological Heritage)

Thursday, December 3, 6 pm
Peter Schertz (Jack and Mary Ann Frable Curator of Ancient Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts), “Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities at VMFA”

Thursday, February 11, 6 pm
Hilary Becker (Binghamton University), “The Iconography of a Life in Arms: The Etruscan Soldier at War, at Home, and at the Tomb” (Ferdinando and Sarah Cinelli Lecture in Etruscan and Italic Archaeology)

Thursday, March 18, 6 pm
Jeremy Pope (The College of William and Mary), “Nubian Queen: How an Ancient African Kingdom Became a Symbol of Feminine Power and Vice Versa”

Thursday, April 15, 6 pm
Melinda Yang (University of Richmond), “Using ancient DNA to study human history – perspectives on East Asia”

Details for our annual May event will be determined in March or April.

Photo: Jérôme Delafosse © Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation

On Thursday, July 9 at 5 pm, Franck Goddio, Founder and President of the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology, will present (online) the opening lecture for the Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Register here: https://www.vmfa.museum/calendar/events/opening-talk-sunken-treasures/.