The Department of Classics, Philosophy, and Religion, and the Leidecker Center for Asian Studies present a public lecture by Dr. Darlene Brooks-Hedstrom, Professor and Chair of the Department of History, and Director of Archaeology at Wittenberg University (Springfield, Ohio):
“Digging for Monks: Monastic Archaeology in Egypt”
In her talk, Professor Brooks-Headstrom will consider the following issues: Who were the Desert Fathers and Mothers of Egypt? Where did they live and why did the desert become such a significant component of the identity of monastic life in Egypt? In this lecture I will document the many examples of monastic built environments from the late antique and medieval periods. In doing this, I will provide a case for how we identify what makes a site monastic by looking at examples of early Byzantine towns. The comparative analysis will provide a context for seeing how monastic communities responded to their environment, modified the natural world, and created a unique corpus of settlement archaeology for us to study.
For more information, contact the department (ctoomey@umw.edu, 540-654-1023).