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Decorated egg from the Isis Tomb, Vulci (Italy) © Trustees of the British Museum (1850,0227). Photo by T. Hodos.

Virtual BABESCH Byvanck Lecture 2021

Programme (20.00-21.30):
  • Welcome and introduction by Diederik Burgersdijk (BABESCH Foundation)
  • BABESCH Byvanck Award, presented to Rogier van der Heijden (University of Freiburg)
  • BABESCH Byvanck Lecture by Tamar Hodos (University of Bristol): 'Eggstraordinary Objects: Ostrich Eggs as Luxury Items in the Ancient Mediterranean'
  • Discussion, moderated by Gert-Jan van Wijngaarden (University of Amsterdam)
BABESCH Byvanck Lecture 2021: 'Eggstraordinary Objects: Ostrich Eggs as Luxury Items in the Ancient Mediterranean' by Tamar Hodos
Decorated ostrich eggs were traded as luxury items from the Middle East to the western Mediterranean during the second and first millennia BCE. The eggs were engraved, painted, and occasionally embellished with ivory, precious metals and faience fittings. While archaeologists note their presence as unusual vessels in funerary and dedicatory contexts, little is known about how or from where they were sourced, decorated and traded. Researchers at Bristol University, Durham University, and the British Museum have established techniques to identify where the eggs originated and how they were decorated. This talk shares the results of this study, revealing the complexity of the production, trade, and economic and social values of luxury organic items between competing cultures of the ancient Mediterranean world. 


Tamar Hodos is Reader in Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Bristol. A world authority on the archaeology of the Mediterranean Iron Age, she uses postcolonial and globalisation theories to tease out the complex connections between the wider ancient Mediterranean’s diverse populations. Her most recent books include The Archaeology of the Mediterranean Iron Age and The Routledge Handbook of Archaeology and Globalization. She spearheads Globalising Luxuries, which explores the role luxuries play in social and economic relations between communities of the ancient world. She is also an active field archaeologist, having worked previously in Turkey and currently in Israel.
The BABESCH Byvanck Lecture 2021 is organised by the BABESCH Foundation and the National Museum of Antiquities (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden - The Netherlands).

Registration for this event is required.
  • To attend the in-person event in the museum, please register on our website
  • To attend the virtual event, please sign up above. ​​​​​​​    A link to the livestream will be emailed to you after registration.

About the BABESCH Byvanck Lecture
Held for the first time in 2007, the BABESCH Byvanck Lecture is the result of a generous donation from the bequest of the late Lily Byvanck-Quarles van Ufford, who has for many years been the driving force of our periodical BABESCH (formerly Bulletin Antieke Beschaving). The foundation set up in her name aims to further the scholarship of Mediterranean Archaeology and the quality of the publications and the events organized by the BABESCH Foundation aimed at the wider public.