|
presents
Annals in the History of Archaeology
|
|
|
If you’re interested
in archaeology, biblical
history, or biography, this
presentation will be a treat.
Dame Kathleen Kenyon
has always been a
larger-than-life figure,
likely the most influential woman
archaeologist of the 20th century.
On Tuesday, historian Miriam
Davis will recount not only
Kenyon's many achievements in the
field but also her personal side,
known to very few of her
contemporaries. Her public side is
a catalog of major successes:
discovering the oldest city at
Jericho with its amazing
collection of plastered skulls;
untangling the archaeological
complexities of ancient Jerusalem
and identifying the original City
of David; participating in the
discipline’s most famous all-woman
excavation at Great Zimbabwe. Her
development (with Sir Mortimer
Wheeler) of stratigraphic
trenching methods has been
universally emulated by
archaeologists for over half a
century. Her private life―her
childhood as daughter of the
director of the British Museum,
her accidental choice of a career
in archaeology, her working at
bombed sites in London during the
blitz, and her solitary retirement
to Wales―are generally unknown.
|
|
FREE and
ONLINE
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
5:30-7:00 pm CDT
|
|
Sign in 5:00-5:30 pm for
informal cigar and cocktail chatter.
The event will be
called to order at 5:30.
There will be a Q&A session
following the lecture. Audience
participation is invited.
The event will conclude at 7 pm.
An optional cocktail party and
discussion will continue after the
event.
Be sure to have your
cocktails and cigars at ready
hand.
|
A native
of Mobile, Alabama, Miriam C.
Davis graduated from Emory
University with a degree in
history. She studied at both the
University of St. Andrews
(Scotland) and the University of
York (England) before earning a
Ph.D. in history from the
University of California, Santa
Barbara. After teaching for
sixteen years at Delta State
University, she is now a freelance
writer and ghostwriter and in the
summer lectures for Smithsonian
Journeys on tours of Ireland,
Scotland, and England. She is the
author of Dame Kathleen
Kenyon: Digging Up the Holy Land
(Routledge). She is currently
ghosting Not As Conquerors:
The Story of the 3rd Battalion
23rd Marines in the First Days
of Occupied Iraq with
Colonel David Couvillon, USMCR
(Ret).
|
|
|
|
Reviews
"Miriam Davis has written a critical yet
colorful biography of Dame Kathleen
Kenyon, one of the legendary figures in
the archaeology of the Holy Land. Drawing
on extensive archival work and scores of
personal interviews, she charts in detail
Kenyon’s early struggle as a lonely woman
in a man’s field; her extraordinary life
on the digs she dominated at Samaria,
Jericho, and Jerusalem; her frequent
involvement in political intrigue in the
Middle East; and her flamboyant personal
style. As someone who knew Dame Kathleen
well in Israel in the 1960s–1970s, I can
attest that Davis has successfully
captured the persona of this remarkable
woman, with all her peculiarities, yet
with full appreciation of her genius. A
splendid accomplishment! As I read it, I
could see Dame Kathleen in my mind’s eye.
Davis has got it right." —William G.
Dever, Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern
Archaeology, University of Arizona.
"As I worked with Dame Kathleen for many
years and received my doctoral degree
under her tutelage at The University of
Oxford, it gives me much pleasure to note
that Miriam Davis has done a terrific job
describing not only 'K’s' archaeological
career, but also the great influence she
had upon her professional associates,
students, and many friends, even though at
heart she was a fairly shy person.This
biography sheds much light on Dame
Kathleen’s attempts to excel in ground
breaking new archaeological techniques,
which she honed while working with the
legendary Sir Mortimer Wheeler on roman
sites in the British Isles. This training
allowed her to apply her knowledge to the
excavation and study of foreign ancient
sites in diverse locations that included
southeast and North Africa, as well as the
famous biblical sites at Samaria, Jericho,
and Jerusalem, which produced many new and
marvelous discoveries." —Thomas
Holland, Oriental Institute, University of
Chicago.
"Kathleen Kenyon was
the outstanding woman archaeologist of the
twentieth century, famous for her
excavations at Jericho and Jerusalem. In
this penetrating biography of 'K', as she
was known to friends, students and
colleagues, Miriam Davis has written the
definitive account of K's life of action
and scholarship in England and the Middle
East. Never shirking the difficulties,
academic, political, personal, Davis
offers balanced judgments, drawing a
portrait true to those of us who knew K
and owed her so much. Essential reading
for everyone interested in the development
f archaeology as an modern intellectual
quest as seen through the life of one of
the pioneers." —Martin Biddle,
Oxford.
"Kathleen Kenyon died some 30 years ago.
Her impact on the archaeological
profession was immense. As time has
passed, however, discussions of Kenyon and
her impact have become almost
one-dimensional caricatures, the
gin-drinking delirious digger of precise,
narrow stratigraphic trenches. This book
reacquaints us with Kenyon as a person,
something that is important in order to
understand her work." —Jeffrey A.
Blakely, University of Wisconsin.
"Miriam Davis' book captures the full life
of an extraordinary woman. In addition to
describing K's career, it gathers detailed
information and testimonials from those
who knew her to form a colorful and
insightful life story about an incredibly
influential dame of archaeology. While
Davis claims it is not intended to be an
academic nor intellectual biography, the
book nevertheless helps understand the
environment of an archaeologist and how
dedicating oneself to archaeology as a
career means having it affect each aspect
of their personal life...It shows what it
takes to be a great archaeologist. To read
the complete review, go to:
http://www.archaeology.org/online/reviews/kenyon/"
—Hana Koriech, Archaeology.
"The author of this biography deserves all
praise. It is based on thorough research
including both oral and written sources.
It is quite readable and avoids many of
the pitfalls common in such
monographs." —Magen
Broshi, Biblical Archaeology Review.
"All too often, academic biographies fail
to strike a balance between detailing the
personal life of the individual and
explaining the intellectual context of
their activities. Fortunately, Miriam
Davis’ biography of Kathleen Kenyon is an
exception… this reviewer finished the book
with the satisfying sense of having been
both educated and entertained. The book is
an interesting mixture of the personal and
the intellectual, with plenty to interest
both archaeologists and others." —Naomi
Farrington, Archaeological Review from
Cambridge.
|
|
|
About
the
Cigar Society of Chicago
ONE OF THE OLDEST AND
greatest traditions of the city clubs of
Chicago is the discussion of intellectual,
social, legal, artistic, historical,
scientific, musical, theatrical, and
philosophical issues in the company of
educated, bright, and appropriately
provocative individuals, all under the
beneficent influence of substantial
amounts of tobacco and spirits. The
Cigar Society of Chicago
embraces this tradition and extends it
with its Informal Smokers, University
Series lectures, and Cigar
Society Dinners, in which cigars,
and from time to time pipes and
cigarettes, appear as an important
component of our version of the classical
symposium. To be included in the
Cigar Society's mailing list, write to the
secretary at
curtis.tuckey@logicophilosophicus.org
|
|
|