News & Events Archaeologist Simon James To Speak at Amherst College April 10

March 28, 2006
Director of Media Relations
413/542-8417

AMHERST, Mass.—Simon James, a reader in archaeology at the University of Leicester, will deliver a lecture titled “Desert Fortress: Life and Violent Death in Roman Dura-Europos, Syria” at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, April 10, in the Pruyne Lecture Hall (Fayerweather 115) at Amherst College. Sponsored by the Archaeological Institute of America and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, his talk is free and open to the public.

Educated at the London Institute of Archaeology, James is interested in the Roman world and societies on its borders, including northern “barbarians” such as the Iron Age ‘Celtic’ societies, and the peoples of the ancient Middle East. His long-standing interest in the archaeology of the Roman military resulted in a major monograph on the arms and armor from Dura-Europos, Syria, and wider work on the role of martial violence in ancient societies. He is a member of the Franco-Syrian-led expedition to Dura-Europos, working on Roman military aspects of the site.

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