News from the year 2011

Early Petra Conference (Berlin, 2–4 december 2011)

From 2009 to 2011 a German-French research program, funded by the «German Research Foundation» (DFG) and the «Agence nationale de la recherche» (ANR) has made possible a series of projects in the enlarged frame of the «early» Nabataean settlement at Petra and in its surroundings.

The conference aims at bringing together people directly involved in the above mentioned research program with colleagues from abroad working on similar topics for a scientific exchange. Contributions shall deal directly and indirectly with the earliest traces of Nabataean presence in the Petra area, all over fields of research and across different genres (landscape archaeology, material culture, structures, texts etc.). Positive as well as negative results shall be presented and discussed, questions related to continuity and discontinuity, methodical and practical problems and others more.

The provisional time schedule is based on a 50 minutes unit for each paper (including 40 minutes for the paper and 10 minutes individual discussion) followed by a discussion of each session lead by the chair.

Conference informations

• Early Petra Conference flyer (2 pages, addresses, introduction and program)
• Early Petra Conference poster (1 page, addresses and program)

Institutions

• L'Agence nationale de la recherche (ANR)
• German Research Foundation (DFG)
• Topoi – The Formation and Transformation of Spaces and Knowledge in Ancient Civilisations
• Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
• The Assicoiation for the Understanding of Ancient Cultures (AUAC)

Organizing Committee

• Michel Mouton (CNRS, Paris)
• Stephan G. Schmid (Humboldt-Universität, Berlin)

Conference Venue

• Topoi Building Mitte
  Hannoversche Strasse 6
  10115 Berlin
  Visit location on Google maps
• The Humboldt University’s Guesthouse
  Ziegelstrasse 13a
  10117 Berlin
  Visit location on Google maps

Seminar for Arabian Studies

Two PDFs are available for the special day on the Nabataeans entitled «The Nabataeans in Focus: Current archaeological research at Petra». Both events are part of the Seminar for Arabian Studies conference at the British Museum from the 28th–30th July 2011.

• Laïla Nehmé: «From the capital Petra to the provincial city of Hegra: new insights on the Nabataeans» (informational flyer)
• The Nabataeans in Focus: Current archaeological research at Petra (session overview)

Multimedia Report about Petra

During spring time a team of the German magazine «Spiegel» visited Petra and interviewed the directors of the different excavation sites. The result is an multimedia report with text, pictures and video footage available at Spiegel Online.

British Institute Amman

Upcoming Lecture: Wednesday 30 March 20111

Dr Lucy Wadeson (University of Oxford, CBRL Senior Visiting Fellow): «From Rock to Ritual: Reconstructing Funerary Practices at Petra»

The ancient geographer Strabo relates that the Nabataeans at Petra treated their dead like dung, and even buried their kings beside dung-heaps (Geog. 16.4.26). These statements do not accord with the magnificent tombs carved in Petra’s rocky landscape and the few burial remains that have been recovered. Nevertheless, very little is known about the burial practices and funerary ritual associated with the tombs, due to a loss of evidence from looting and reuse of the chambers over the centuries. Documentation and study of the rock-cut architecture, both behind and in front of the façades of the tombs, have been taking place since 2005, with the aims of enhancing knowledge of funerary customs and the debated chronology of the tombs. In this lecture, some new ideas will be presented on the sorts of activities taking place at the tombs and their significance for our understanding of the social and cultural identity of the Nabataeans. It will be demonstrated how the notions expressed in Nabataean funerary inscriptions accord with the archaeological evidence, shedding light on how the Nabataeans conceptualized funerary space. New findings and results from the excavation of Tombs 779 and 781 at the base of el-Khubtha will also be presented, including an entirely new burial structure and information on the functioning of tomb complexes.

Street address of the British Institute Amman:
02 Uhod Street
Tla’ Al-Ali
Amman

Nabataeans – Seminar for Arabian Studies Conference

Dear Colleagues,

The lecture and session below may be of interest to people on the list. The session is not closed and there is the opportunity to offer an abstracts for consideration by the Steering Committee but it must be received by the 15th of February 2011.

Nabataeans at the Seminar

MBI Al Jaber Foundation Public Lecture – Thursday 28th July

The subject of this year’s lecture will be «From the Nabataean capital of Petra to the provincial city of Hegra: new insights on the Nabataeans» presented by Dr Laïla Nehmé of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Orient et Méditerranée.

Session on the Nabataeans

The Nabataeans in Focus: Current archaeological research at Petra
Organizer: Dr Lucy Wadeson (University of Oxford), lucy.wadeson@orinst.ox.ac.uk

The last few years have seen a significant intensification of archaeological activity in the environs of Petra. New projects, such as in Wadi Farasa, the Outer Siq, Umm el Biyara, and the various necropoleis and cultic areas of the surrounding mountains are particularly important in enhancing knowledge of the social, religious and funerary activities of the Nabataeans and their relation to the topography of the city, its urban core and how it functioned. This session aims to bring together key projects in order to gain a new understanding of how different areas of the city functioned, how they relate to one another and what original ideas they reveal about Nabataean culture, society and the urban development of Petra. The key questions that the session will tackle include: How did Petra’s natural environment influence the Nabataean architectural and sculptural style, urban planning, carving and construction techniques, and more social factors such as religious rituals and burial practices? How should we define the Nabataean cultural identity, which is only now being appreciated as something distinct from better-known surrounding cultures in the region? How do aspects of Petra’s urban, religious and funerary landscape relate to other cities and settlements in the territory of the Nabataeans and wider region? The latter question will engage with the topic of the Special Lecture that is to be delivered by Dr Laïla Nehmé at the conference. In addition, this session will act as a platform to promote discussion of the various methodological approaches taken in archaeological projects related to the Nabataeans in the face of limited literary sources and debates over chronology. This will raise important questions concerning the direction in which future archaeological activity at Petra should be going.

Current Paper Titles Offered:

• «A Newly Discovered Nabataean Royal Residence on Umm al-Biyara, Petra» – SCHMID, Stephan (Winckelmann Institute, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany) & BIENKOWSKI, Piotr (The Manchester Museum, University of Manchester)
• «The International Aslah Project and Dalman’s ‹Sanctuaries› – New Researches at Petra» - WENNING, Robert (Institut für Altorientalische Philologie und Vorderasiatische Altertumskunde Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany)
• «The Funerary Landscape of Petra: Results from a New Study» – WADESON, Lucy (Oriental Institute, University of Oxford)
• «Glimpsing the Working Man’s Worldview: Thoughts on Results from the Petra Quarry Marks Survey Project» – TUTTLE, Christopher (Associate Director, American Centre of Oriental Research, Amman, Jordan)

Call for Papers

To offer a paper related to the Session outlined above, please send a 200-word abstract to seminar.arab@durham.ac.uk before the 15 February 2011 for consideration by the Steering Committee. If you wish to discuss a potential abstract before submission you can contact the Session organizer, Lucy Wadeson, at lucy.wadeson@orinst.ox.ac.uk

Abstracts that are significantly over the word limit may rejected. Abstracts submitted after the deadline may be accepted or rejected only at the discretion of the Seminar.

Abstracts must include:

• the name(s) and full contact details (affiliation(s)) of the contributor(s);
• the title of the proposed paper;
• what the proposed paper intends to cover;
• an outline of the approach it will take;
• indicate the significance of the topic;
• five keywords;
• three relevant bibliographical references.

Presentations are limited to 20 minutes, with an additional 5 minutes for discussion.

Due to programme time constraints, and the ever-increasing number of abstracts received, there is no guarantee that all papers will be accepted. The Steering Committee will select those abstracts that are most scholarly, with a strong, focused statement of thesis or importance, with clear aims and methodology, well-organized research data, specified sources and convincing, coherent conclusions. As in previous years, the Committee normally only accept one abstract from any given project.

Only those papers that are physically presented at the Seminar will be considered for publication in the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies and will be subject to editorial review.

Details of the Seminar for Arabian Studies can be found on our website, www.arabianseminar.org.uk and it is hoped a provisional programme will be available by April/May 2011. For further information please contact Dr Ardle Mac Mahon at seminar.arab@durham.ac.uk

The Steering & Editorial Committee: Dr Robert Carter (Chair), Dr Ardle Mac Mahon (Secretary), Andrew Thompson (Treasurer), Janet Starkey (PSAS Editor-in-Chief), Prof. Khaleel Al-Muaikel, Prof. Alessandra Avanzini, Dr Mark Beech, Dr Nadia Durrani, Dr Ricardo Eichmann, Prof. Clive Holes, Dr Robert G. Hoyland, Dr Derek Kennet, Michael C.A. Macdonald, Dr Venetia Porter, Prof Dan Potts, Prof. Christian Robin, Dr St. John Simpson, Prof. Janet Watson & Dr Lloyd Weeks

Call for Papers 2011 – Seminar for Arabian Studies Conference

We are very pleased to announce that the 45th Seminar for Arabian Studies Conference will be held at the British Museum from Thursday 28th July 2011 to Saturday 30th July 2011.

The Seminar for Arabian Studies is the only international forum that meets annually for the presentation of the latest academic research in the humanities on the Arabian Peninsula from the earliest times to the present day or, in the case of political and social history, to the end of the Ottoman Empire (1922). The Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies are published the following year in time for the next Seminar.

The Seminar for Arabian Studies also hosts the MBI Al Jaber Foundation Public Lecture on the Thursday evening of the Conference. The subject of this year’s lecture will be «Petra and Hegra: the stone cities of the Nebataeans». This will be presented by Dr Laïla Nehmé of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Orient et Méditerranée.

Call for Papers

If you wish to offer a paper to the Conference, please send a 200-word abstract to seminar.arab@durham.ac.uk before the 15 February 2011 for consideration by the Steering Committee. Abstracts that are significantly over the word limit may rejected. Abstracts submitted after the deadline may be accepted or rejected only at the discretion of the Seminar.

Abstracts must include:

• the name(s) and full contact details (affiliation(s)) of the contributor(s);
• the title of the proposed paper;
• what the proposed paper intends to cover;
• an outline of the approach it will take;
• indicate the significance of the topic;
• five keywords;
• three relevant bibliographical references.

Presentations are limited to 20 minutes, with an additional 5 minutes for discussion.

Due to programme time constraints, and the ever-increasing number of abstracts received, there is no guarantee that all papers will be accepted. The Steering Committee will select those abstracts that are most scholarly, with a strong, focused statement of thesis or importance, with clear aims and methodology, well-organized research data, specified sources and convincing, coherent conclusions. As in previous years, the Committee normally only accept one abstract from any given project.

Only those papers that are physically presented at the Seminar will be considered for publication in the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies and will be subject to editorial review.

Session Proposals

The Committee is willing to consider possible Session Proposals. A Session Proposal must include a minimum of four papers and have a clear scholarly focus with the explicate purpose to promote discussion and debate on work currently in progress, the current state of scholarship, issues involved in the application of new approaches and models etc. A Session Proposal should be sent with a session summary along with abstracts outlined as above for individual abstracts. The Committee will still consider each session abstract individually. A Session chair may be nominated but a final decision on this will remain with the Committee.

Posters

The deadline for the submission of Posters is the 30 May 2011. A poster submission form and guidelines will be available on the Seminar’s website soon. Please note that from July 2011 onwards, poster presentations will not be included in the Proceedings but will be uploaded onto the Seminar website with the layout and text used for the poster that was physically displayed at the Conference.

Seminar for Arabian Studies,
c/o The British Museum,
Middle East Department,
Great Russell Street,
London,
WC1B 3DG, UK

Dr Ardle Mac Mahon

More informations

For further information please contact seminar.arab@durham.ac.uk

Details of the Seminar can be found on our website at www.arabianseminar.org.uk