VENUE:
THE LEGGATE LECTURE THEATRE,VICTORIA BUILDING,ASHTON STREET,UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL. L69 3DR.
Click here for a map of the venue with directions and parking information.
DETAILS:
Liverpool has a long tradition of Biblical Archaeology,and we are delighted to announce a day conference in honour of one of the subject’s leading experts:Professor Kenneth Kitchen.
The presentations will focus on the 2nd millenium BC, and how the historical transformations at this time are reflected in the Bible.
The day conference will be held at the University of Liverpool’s Victoria building. The Victoria building is the original site of the University,and its distinctive red brick exterior inspired the term ‘red brick’ university which became synonymous with late nineteenth century civic universities.
We can think of no better place to commemorate the completion of Professor Kenneth Kitchen’s latest work ‘Treaty,Law and Covenant in the Ancient Near-East’ (which he affectionately calls ‘TLC’).
Professor Kitchen will be joined by his colleague and fellow Emeritus Professor,Alan Millard (a leading expert on writing and literacy during Biblical times).
Liverpool’s Dr Paul Lawrence and Dr Bruce Routledge will also speak. Dr Paul Lawrence has just produced an accessible version of Professor Kitchen’s ‘TLC’,and will set the scene for for the conference. Dr Bruce Routledge is Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Liverpool,where he teaches Biblical Archaeology.
Dr Glenn Godenho. email:ggodenho@liverpool.ac.uk. Office:0151 794 2475.
9.00-10.00am
Registration
10.00am-11.00am
‘Setting the Scene:Egypt and the Near-East,1500–500BC’
The arrival of the so-called Sea Peoples sent convulsions through Egypt and other parts of the ancient world. This had a profound effect on the formation of ancient treaties,which is also reflected in the Biblical covenants.
11.00-11.15
Break (tea and coffee served)
11.15am-12.30pm
Keynote Paper by Professor Kenneth Kitchen
‘Ancient Near-Eastern Treaty,Law &Covenant’
‘This presentation will place Ancient Near-Eastern treaties,laws and covenants (particularly as attested in Exodus-Leviticus,Deuteronomy and Joshua 24) in context.
Traditionally linked with Moses at Sinai and in Moab,and Joshua in Canaan,and of oft-disputed date,the famous Hebrew laws-in-covenant are no isolated phenomenon. They can be definitively set within their proper and wider context of a wealth of ancient laws and treaties extending down through almost three millennia,c. 2500 to 46 BC,all the way from Sumer to Caesar.
12.30-2.00pm
Lunch (selection of sandwiches provided)
2.00-3.00pm
‘“And the walls came tumbling down”:Archaeology,the Bible and the end of the 2nd Millennium BC’
Between 1200-900 BC life in the Eastern Mediterranean changed profoundly,setting the scene for the story of Israel in Canaan and the kingdoms of Saul,David and Solomon. In this talk I will review the latest archaeological evidence for life in these three tumultuous centuries,highlighting some unexpected developments and considering their implications for biblical history.
3.00-3.15pm
Break (tea and coffee served)
3.15-4.30pm
‘Writing and History in Ancient Israel’
Discoveries of written texts in the Holy Land and surrounding countries from the days of the Kings suggest writing was more widespread than most scholars suppose,but how was it used? The evidence will be investigated for notes,accounts,messages and books. Does it allow the possibility of books of history,law,poetry and prophecy being produced from the days of David onwards?
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The University of Liverpool is a leading international centre for the study of the ancient world – from the archaeology of human evolution,through ancient Egypt and the Near East to Greek and Roman history,culture and literature,and Iron Age Europe.
For more details of our programmes,go to www.liv.ac.uk/sace