[Usyd_Classics_Events] USYD Classics and Ancient History Research Seminar 2025, Tamar Hodos

[Ben Brown]

Dear Friends of Classics and Ancient History,

We are delighted to invite you to the first presentation of Semester1, 2025 in our Classics and Ancient History research seminar series.

March 3rd (Monday, 12.15pm UTC+11) in the VGCC Boardroom
Zoom link: https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/j/83159864939

Tamar Hodos (University of Sydney/Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens)

Eggstraordinary Objects: ostrich eggs as luxury items in the ancient Mediterranean

Decorated ostrich eggs were traded as luxury items from the Middle East to the western Mediterranean during the second and first millennia BCE. The eggs were engraved, painted, and occasionally embellished with ivory, precious metals and faience fittings. While archaeologists note their presence as unusual vessels in funerary and dedicatory contexts, little is known about how or from where they were sourced, decorated and traded. Researchers at Bristol University, Durham University, and the British Museum have established techniques to identify where the eggs originated and how they were decorated, while researchers from the Universities of Bristol, Cranfield, and Newcastle in the UK, along with colleagues from the Universities of Ghent and Leuven, have assessed comparative methods to identify pigments. This talk shares the results of our studies, revealing the complexity of the production, trade, and economic and social values of luxury organic items between competing cultures of the ancient Mediterranean world.

Tamar Hodos is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Sydney and Director of the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens

All best, Ben
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