Monday, 14th May 2007
Dr Matthew J. Ponting (Liverpool University)
COPPER-BASED METALWORK FROM THE JEWISH QUARTER EXCAVATIONS IN THE OLD CITY, JERUSALEM
In this lecture Dr Ponting presents an overview of recently conducted analytical work on finds from the excavations of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City area of Jerusalem. The material studied comes from a number of different contexts including closely dated Herodean domestic structures. The study uses chemical analysis of the artefacts to identify the alloy types used and the trace contaminants present. This information is then used to investigate changes and innovation in the alloys selected for different purposes and other technological considerations. The trends identified are discussed in relation to other data from the region and with broader archaeological issues.
Dr Ponting completed a PhD in archaeometallurgy at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL, before working in the then Department of Scientific Research at the British Museum. He later took up a Lady Davis Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem before moving to the British School at Athens as the Archaeological Chemistry Fellow. On returning to the UK, Dr. Ponting worked in the Archaeology Department at Nottingham University and in the Ancient Technology Section of English Heritage before taking up a Lectureship in the School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology at the University of Liverpool, where he teaches, amongst other things, Artefact Studies and Analytical methods. He is currently conducting research projects looking at Roman coinage and non-ferrous metalwork in the ancient Levant during the Classical and Late Antique periods. Dr Ponting was awarded a Society grant in 2006 to help with his research in Jerusalem.
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