Schedule of Events 1999-2000
Western Illinois Society
The Archaeological Institute of America

For lecture abstracts please click on the titles.

October 6, 1999
Stephanie J. Maloney, University of Louisville
"Builders and Building Programs at the Roman Villa of Torre de Palma, Portugal"
7:30 P.M. in the Fox Room of the Student Union, Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois

Thursday, October 7, 1999
Stephanie J. Maloney of the University of Louisville.
"The Early Christian Basilica of Torre de Palma"
7:30 P.M. in the Highlander Room of the Stockdale Center, Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois

Wednesday, November 3, 1999
Geoffrey Conrad of Indiana University
"The Tainos: The Indians Who Greeted Columbus"
4:00 P.M. in the Highlander Room of the Stockdale Center, Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois

Wednesday, November 3, 1999
Geoffrey Conrad of Indiana University
"The Rise and Fall of the Inca Empire"
7:30 P.M. in the Highlander Room of the Stockdale Center, Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois

Monday, March 6, 2000
Eugene Borza of Pennsylvania State University
"Royal Possession of Alexander the Great"
12:00 Noon in the Highlander Room of the Stockdale Center, Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois

Monday, March 6, 2000
Eugene Borza of Pennsylvania State University
"Modern Greece: Classical or Balkan?"
7:30 P.M. in the Highlander Room of the Stockdale Center, Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois

Tuesday, April 4, 2000
John Wilson of Pepperdine University
"A Royal Palace in the City of Pan (Ancient Caesarea Philippi)"
12:00 Noon, Highlander Room, Stockdale Center, Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois

Tuesday, April 4, 2000
John Wilson of Pepperdine University
"Christians and Pagans in Ancient Paneas (Caesarea Philippi)"
7:30 P.M. in the John Deer Lecture Hall, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois

Although recognizing the villa was in existence for hundreds of years the original excavators made little attempt to study the actual developments of the villa over time. Beginning in 1983 a team of archaeologists and other specialists from the University of Louisville started a re-excavation project designed to fill in some of the lacunae in the original research.

The villa includes several residences ranging from a grand house decorated with mosaics to one-and two-room rustic dwellings, two bath complexes, an olive press, granaries, a forge, other work areas, temples, cemeteries, and a complex early Christian basilica and baptistery. These buildings were not, however, all built at one time. Although the first occupation of the villa was int he 1st c. AD the basic form of the villa was established in the 2nd. Major building projects over the next 500 years led to changes in and expansion of the complex. During the course of the re-excavation project it has been possible to identify the hands of several particular buildings. In this lecture the development of the villa over time will be discussed along with stylistic characteristics of the various builders and the role their identification has played in the study of the villa.

Stephanie J. Maloney of the University of Louisville.
"The Early Christian Basilica of Torre de Palma"

Much more than a simple basilica, the important Christian complex of Torre de Palma includes two double-apsed churches placed end to end, an elaborate baptistery, an enigmatic apsidal structure outside the east end, a precinct wall, and two cemeteries. The church was discovered forty years ago but was never adequately published. A re-excavation project was organized to answer some fundamental questions about this unique monument, including: What was the original form of the basilica? How many phases of construction are represented in the building? What is the date of the first phase of construction and of subsequent alterations to the building. How is the complex related to the large villa 100 meters to the south?

Results of the re-excavation project will be discussed along with related questions concerning the relationship of this building to other double-apsed churches in Iberia and North Africa, the relationship of this building to contemporary churches in other pars of the early Christian world, and the relationship of the original church to Vitruvian principles of planning and design.

Geoffrey Conrad of Indiana University
"The Tainos: The Indians Who Greeted Columbus"

The Indians who welcomed Christopher Colombus to the Caribbean islands have become known as the Tainos, after a word that meant "good" or "noble" in their own language. Columbus wrote of them and there were "in all the world no better people." Despite these words of admiration, relations between Europeans and Indians soon deteriorated, and by 1525 disease and warfare had severely disrupted Taino culture. This lecture gives a general overview of Taino culture and describes new research at Taino sites in the Dominican Republic.

Geoffrey Conrad of Indiana University
"The Rise and Fall of the Inca Empire"

A general overview of the Inca Empire of Peru (ca. AD 1440-1532), the largest empire ever formed in the pre-Columbian New World. Discusses the history of the Incas, the nature of Inca society and the Inca state, and offers an interpretation of the dramatic rise and fall of the empire. Special emphasis on the role of Inca religion and the worship of the mummies of dead rulers.

An analysis of the contents of Tomb II in the Macedonian royal cemetery at Vergina in northern Greece. Excavated in 1977, the tomb was thought by the excavator to be that of King Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. This lecture will suggest that the tomb must be dated later than Philip II’s death. It will also suggest that some of the grave goods may be identified as the personal possessions of Alexander the Great. If true, this would be the first time we have been able to identify items that actually belonged to the Macedonian conqueror.

Eugene Borza of Pennsylvania State University
"Modern Greece: Classical or Balkan?"

The story of 18^th and 19^th century travelers who came to Greece in search of the glories of the ancient Hellenes and found instead a modern Balkan people who seemed unlike their ancient famous ancestors. This apparent disparity had an effect both on western European thought and on the modern Greeks themselves. In the case of the former, there was a movement to isolate the modern inhabitants and culture of Greece from their Classical ancestors; in the case of the latter, the modern Greeks themselves were influenced by the philhellenic expectations of their western European patrons. Illustrated with slides showing Classical monuments, Classical Revival and Neo-Classical monuments of the modern period, contemporary 19^th-century impressions of Greece, and scenes of modern Athens.

John Wilson of Pepperdine University
"A Royal Palace in the City of Pan (Ancient Caesarea Philippi)"
12:00 Noon, Highlander Room, Stockdale Center, Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois

This illustrated lecture describes recent discoveries at the site of ancient Caesarea-Paneas (called Caesarea Philippi in the New Testament, and Banias in modern times). Dr. Wilson is project director of the excavations, in association with Dr. Vassilious Tzaferis, Director of Excavation, Israel Antiquities Authority. Banias is located at the foot of Mount Hermon near a large spring below the mouth of the famous "Cave of Pan" mentioned by many ancient writers, one of the major sources of the Jordan River. Herod the Great built a temple to Augustus here, his son Philip founded a city at the site, and his great-grandson Agrippa II ruled over a small Roman client state from this city. Important Roman, Byzantine, Arab and Crusader period buildings are coming to light.

Among the architectural remains is a huge public building, the first story of which remarkably intact. The building exhibits the finest architectural skills of the early Roman empire. Its conversion into a long-used public bath house in the Second Century, and incorporation into a medieval fortress resulted in significant preservation. An accumulation of evidence over the last decade is pointing to a startling theory–that this may have been the royal palace of King Agrippa himself, from which he ruled for almost half a century with his sister-consort the Prince Berenice.

John Wilson of Pepperdine University
"Christians and Pagans in Ancient Paneas (Caesarea Philippi)"