Location: Ithacan Philanthropic Society, L.2, 329 Elizabeth Street.
Date: 14 August 2014, 7:00pm
Presenter: Lt. Cdr. Andrea Argirides, Australian Defence Force
Entry: Free

Synopsis

Iraq and Afghanistan are steeped in history, and both nations are rich in archaeological sites and cultural heritage. With a wealth of cultural landscapes, including a complex array of indigenous societies (including the Greeks) that have passed through these amazing lands from antiquity to contemporary times, this lecture will focus on two Hellenistic sites in Iraq (Seleucia and Opis) and Afghanistan (Aï Khanum and Kandahar). 

From her position as both a researcher and a military officer, Andrea is uniquely placed to discuss the importance of protecting archaeological and cultural heritage in war torn nations such as Iraq and Afghanistan, and will aim to highlight key issues facing the archaeological community and Coalition Forces in protecting archaeological and cultural heritage sites during armed conflict.

Brief Biography

Under the supervision of Professor Tony Sagona at the University of Melbourne, Andrea Argirides is writing her PhD Thesis entitle The Protection of Archaeological and Cultural Heritage Sites in Conflict Zones: The Case for Iraq. 

Andrea has various other Postgraduate qualifications from the University of Melbourne, including two Masters - Programme Evaluation (University Of Melbourne) and Defence Studies (University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy).  Andrea is also a Military Officer in the Australian Defence Force, and has had two tours of duty in Iraq (2008) and Afghanistan (2013). 

Her military work has been recognised with a number of awards and commendations, including the United States Bronze Star Medal for exceptional meritorious service in a combat zone with exposure to risk of hostile action during Operation Iraq Freedom. 

Her academic interests include: combat/battlefield archaeology; historical archaeology of the Ancient Near East; protection of archaeological and cultural heritage in conflict zones; political and nationalistic archaeology under dictatorship and maritime archaeology in Middle and Late Bronze Age Mediterranean.

Sponsors

We would like to thank Dimitris & Theoni Kalodimos and Tom Koletsos for sponsoring tonight’s lecture. Such initiatives assist us in providing these lectures free to the public.