Conference
Organized in conjunction with the inaugural exhibition Wine, Worship, and Sacrifice: The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani, is a scholarly conference to be held at ISAW on May 16th and 17th, 2008. Thirteen internationally renowned scholars will present papers that further illuminate topics explored in this exhibition -- from the evidence of early wine production in ancient Georgia, to the state of research surrounding ancient Colchis, and the ritual sacrifice of retainers at Vani. Papers will each be 35-minutes long with a period for questions.
Due to overwhelming demand ISAW is no longer accepting reservations for this event.
May 16th
Opening Remarks: Roger Bagnall
Moderator: Jennifer Chi
6:00pm David Lordkipanidze, Georgian National Museum
“Georgia before the Argonauts”
6:45pm John Boardman, University of Oxford
“Ancient Colchis Old and New”
May 17th
9:30am Nino Lordkipanidze, Otar Lordkipanidze Center for Archaeological Studies
“Medea’s Colchis: Myth and Reality”
10:15am David Braund, University of Exeter
“Why Vani? The History and Geography of Ancient Colchis”
11:00am Darejan Kacharava, Otar Lordkipanidze Center for Archaeological Studies
“Recent Archaeological Finds at Vani”
11:45 Guram Kvirkvelia, Otar Lordkipanidze Center for Archaeological Studies
“A New Sanctuary at Vani, Excavations 2003-2006”
2:00pm Jack Ogden, Gemmological Association of Great Britain
“Technology,Craft, and Context: New Thoughts on Old Gold”
2:45pm Florian Knauss, Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek, Munich
“The Impact of the Persian Empire: Achaemenid Influence in Colchian Art and Culture”
3:30pm James Rives, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
“Human Sacrifice and the Ritualized Killing of Retainers”
4:15pm Patrick McGovern, University of Pennsylvania Museum
“Wine and the Vine: The Archaeological and Chemical Hunt for the Origins of Viniculture”
5:00pm Michael Vickers, University of Oxford
“Pichvnari and Vani: Colchian Contrasts”