November 2013: Dr. Robert R. Stieglitz, Sea Peoples in the Promised Land

November 17, 2013 at 3pm                                                        The Helen H. Loeffler Memorial Lecture

Dr. Robert R. Stieglitz         Sea Peoples in the Promised Land

Recent Archaeological evidence unearthed in Israel and on Cyprus, has shed new light on the history of the Philistines, a leading tribe in a federation the Egyptians termed ‘People of the Sea’ who settled along the coasts of Canaan. Archaeology reveals that these newcomers to the Promised Land, together with allies such as the Sikala, brought from their Aegeo-Anatolian homeland a sophisticated heritage including ashlar architecture and innovations in naval technology. Some Sea People were literate, using a syllabic script called Cypro-Minoan. Biblical narratives and Egyptian records portray the Sea Peoples as highly organized warriors. The Philistine tribe gave its name to their new homeland as Philistia (Peleshet/Plst/Pilisti) whence Greek Palaistinē gave us Palestine.

Robert R. Stieglitz, Ph.D. (Brandeis University, 1971) is Professor Emeritus of Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations at Rutgers University, where he was the director of the undergraduate Ancient and Medieval Civilizations Program. As specialist in ancient seafaring and cultural interconnections, he excavated at several coastal sites in Greece and Israel, and conducted archaeological surveys at many ancient harbor sites throughout the Mediterranean world. Professor Stieglitz is the recipient of numerous academic honors and awards, author of four books and more than one hundred articles on the ancient Near East and Mediterranean world. He has taught at universities and institutes in Greece, Israel and was formerly curator of the National Maritime Museum, Haifa. He continues to lead archaeological tours in the Mediterranean, to regions including the Greek mainland, western Turkey, Cyprus, Crete, Malta, Sardinia, and Corsica.