Next AIA Lecture is February 15

Released: January 21, 2009

The Lincoln-Omaha Society of the Archaeological Institute of America announces the fourth lecture on archaeology for the 2008-2009 season. Professor Thomas Hikade, from the University of British Columbia, will be speaking on his recent excavations at the Egyptian site of Hierakonpolis.

Hierakonpolis, the ancient Nekhen, was once the legendary capital of Upper Egypt. Here excavations have been conducted for more than 100 years, discovering famous finds such as the Narmer Palette, the Burnt House, the earliest temple of Egypt, and cemeteries of the common people as well as the ruling elite, and more recently the remains of monumental architecture.

The lecture will present an overview of previous excavation work at Hierakonpolis and the recent results of the UBC expedition from 2005-08. Hikade studied Egyptology, Near Eastern Archaeology, and Prehistory at the University of Trier, Germany and the Ruprecht-Karls University in Heidelberg, Germany. Hikade's Ph.D. was on expeditions during New Kingdom Egypt (1550-1070 BC). Since 1988, Dr. Hikade has been working on excavations throughout Egypt, working primarily with the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo and the American Research Centre in Egypt. In 2004 Dr. Hikade was appointed Assistant Professor of Egyptology in the Department of Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies at the University of British Columbia. Hikade is also co-director of the excavation at Hierakonpolis/Upper Egypt that is conducted in cooperation with the Hierakonpolis Expedition directed by Dr Renee Friedman (British Museum).

For more information on Hikade, visit his biography page on the University of British Columbia website .

Future AIA Lectures in 2009

• March 23 - Steven Ellis, University of Cincinnati - New Excavations at Pompeii: The Discovery of a 'Lost' Pompeian Neighborhood
• April 19 - Nicholas Cahill, University of Wisconsin - Sardis in the Lydian Period: Between East and West