Tuesday March 10, 2020, 6pm at ACOR
Reception to Follow
About the Lecture:
Ancient sites which have recently come to light on the Dead Sea littoral reveal what life was like for the average Nabataean some two thousand years ago. Ancient texts also refer to these communities and the close relations which they had with their immediate neighbors to the north-west, even to the extent of intermarriage. The Dead Sea region will be discussed in the larger context of the evolving Nabataean realm. The site of Khirbet Qazone will be given special attention as it is the focus of K.D. Politis’ current research supported by an ACOR CAORC fellowship. The cemetery at Khirbet Qazone included well preserved textiles along with other objects dating from the 1st to 3rd centuries A.D. There is also an early Christian phase (4th to 6th century) which includes a church.
About the Lecturer:
Dr. Konstantine Politis is an archaeologist educated in Greece, the United States, Britain and Belgium. His early fieldwork was in Greece and Liechtenstein. From 1988–2011, he was based at the British Museum, which was the principal sponsor of his excavations. The focus of his work is the Late Antique and early Islamic periods in the east Mediterranean and Arabia. Dr. Politis has worked in Jordan for over 35 years, and his main archaeological projects include the Sanctuary of Lot at Deir ‘Ain ‘Abata, the Masna al-Sukkar and Khirbat ash-Sheikh ‘Isa at Ghawr as-Safi, and Khirbet Qazone. Currently he is on a second ACOR-CAORC Fellowship to conclude the studies of that site for publication. As chairperson of the Hellenic Society for Near Eastern Studies, Dr. Politis initiated the Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth in Jordan, led excavations at Ra’s al-Hadd in Oman, and coordinated a documentation training program for mosaics in Syria, as well as an exhibition on Hellenistic Syria in the Hama Museum.
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