Rising Above: Monumental Architecture in the Near East | 14 September, 10:00am-4:00-pm
Across the millennia, monumental architecture served widely differing purposes, in a great variety of structural expressions. In early periods (Neolithic through Iron Ages), size and elaboration of monumental structures were held to express the power and authority of ruling elites, while acting as unifying symbols in the society so governed. In later periods (Classical and Late Antique) new forms of delegated authority developed under the great empires, with civic amenities (baths, nymphaea, theatres, basilica, colonnaded streets) coming to the fore as expressions of membership in a pan-imperial society, and compliance with its customs.
In this joint book launch and study day, we hope to explore some of the variety expressed in monumental architecture, through functional, contextual, and comparative analysis. Monumental architecture will be considered in the broadest possible terms placing the considered monuments into the broader context of the region at the time, in order to help understand how ancient people and the world around them interacted with the often imposing structures over time.
We are delighted to open the study day with the launch of Ross Burns’ new book, Understanding Syria through 40 Monuments: A Story of Survival, with the option to preview and order the book. After morning tea, we will have four speakers talking on monumental architecture across the ancient Near East and spanning multiple centuries.
| Time | Lecture | Topic |
| 10:00 am | Introduction | |
| 10:05 am | Ross Burns | Book launch*: Understanding Syria through 40 Monuments: A Story of Survival |
| 11:00 am | Morning tea | |
| 11:30 am | Craig Barker | Monuments of Spectacles and Performance: Exploring the Theatres and Amphitheatres of Cyprus |
| 12:30 pm | Amand Dusting | Hallmarks of monumental Achaemenid architecture in the Persian heartland and greater empire |
| 1:30 pm | Lunch break | |
| 2:00 pm | Stephen Bourke | Temples to Eternity: Monumental Fortress Temples of the Levantine Middle Bronze Age |
| 3:00 pm | Gillian Smith | The ever-evolving building history of the Temple of Karnak |
| 4:00 pm | Close |
* Book Launch | Dr Ross Burns – Understanding Syria through 40 Monuments: A Story of Survival
Abstract: How can a nation’s archaeological treasures help explain its history, especially one as richly complex as Syria’s? Ross Burns chooses 40 among Syria’s outstanding range of sites, accompanied by over 200 colour illustrations, to take the reader through the tangled paths of this crossroads of the eastern Mediterranean where numerous world cultures intersected.
Given the last 12 years of savage conflict, the author reports too on the plight of many of these monuments, addressing the common but unhelpful assumption that much of the country’s archaeological treasures have been ‘destroyed’. A better approach is to recognise that Syria’s heritage can play a role in the country’s recovery and cannot simply be declared a write-off. This is a history which tells us much about how Syria’s mixture of traditions defy simplistic categorisation through modern definitions of cultures and identities.