bIbLICaL arCHaeOLOGy reVIeW 15
E X H I B I T WA T C H
Ancient Cultures in Contact
In school we learn about the Mesopotamians, then the Egyptians,
then the Greeks, and so on. Unless these groups went to war with
one another, we may be left to believe that the great civilizations
of the Old World formed and existed in isolation. Their distinctive,
readily recognizable artifacts can in fact confi rm this misleading
impression, but critical scholarship
reveals a much more complex,
dynamic picture of ancient cultures.
There is probably no better
example so sharply contrasting the
picture of insular cultures than the Mediterranean basin during the
Hellenistic and Roman periods, when diff erent empires, peoples,
and cultures participated in a wide range of interaction.
Arts and crafts that survived from this era refl ect the dynamics
of creative exchange on the one hand and remarkable persistence
of cultural traditions on the other. This story of mutual interactions
is the subject of a special exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago.
Titled Ancient Mediterranean Cultures in Contact, the exhibit
showcases nearly 100 objects from the museum’s ancient Egyptian,
Roman, Greek, and Etruscan collections. Underlining the aspects
of migration and assimilation, the show consciously points to the
parallels between the ancient world and our present situation.
Among the objects on display is an amulet (see above)
representing the Egyptian falcon god Horus. It is an example of
how Egypt retained much of its traditional culture throughout the
centuries of interaction with and even political subjugation by
other groups; it also embodies the globalizing tendencies of the
Hellenistic and Roman worlds, as Egyptian elements in art, archi-
tecture, and even religion were commonly exported, adopted, or
adapted by other cultures of the ancient Mediterranean.biblical archaeology.org/exhibits For more on this exhibit
and others, visit us online.THROUGH APRIL 29, 2018
The Field Museum
Chicago, IL, USA
http://www.fieldmuseum.orgE X H I B I T WA T C H
© THE FIELD MUSEUM/PHOTO BY JOHN WEINSTEINMILESTONES
KENNETH G. HOLUM
1939–
On September 20, 2017,
Kenneth G. Holum passed
away at the age of 78. An
eminent scholar, devoted pro-
fessor, and cordial mentor, he
advanced the study of ancient
Mediterranean history and
archaeology. BAR readers
will best remember him as
the excavation director of
Caesarea Maritima, which
was originally built by King
Herod the Great, on Israel’s
Mediterranean coast.
Born in 1939 in South
Dakota, Holum grew up on
the prairie and attended
Augustana University in
Sioux Falls. After graduating
from Augustana in 1961, he
served for six years in the
U.S. Navy. Then he earned
a Ph.D. at the University of
Chicago; his dissertation
examined empresses from
the Byzantine period.
He began teaching at the
University of Maryland in
1970, and he would stay there
for the next 44 years—until
his retirement in 2014, when
he took the title professor
emeritus. Specializing in Late
Antiquity (fourth–seventh
centuries, also known as
the Byzantine period), he
taught courses on a variety
of subjects related to ancient
Mediterranean history and
archaeology.
Holum had been trained
as a historian, but in 1978
he volunteered at the Joint
Expedition to Caesarea
Maritima led by Robert Jehu
Bull. This experience resulted
in a second specialty for him:
the archaeology and history
of ancient Greek and Roman
cities. Returning to Caesarea
Maritima for the next decade,
he progressed from volunteer
to area supervisor and publi-
cation contributor. When Bull
announced his intention to
retire from field work, Holum
partnered with the late Avner
Raban of the University of
Haifa and launched a new
excavation at Caesarea
Maritima in 1989, which
was named the Combined
Caesarea Expeditions.
Holum was a towering
figure at the University of
Maryland and at Caesarea
Maritima. He leaves behind
his wife, Marsha Rozenblit,
and children, Kate and Mark—
as well as many students, col-
leagues, and excavation vol-
unteers who benefitted from
his brilliance, generosity, kind-
ness, and slightly mischievous
take on life. May his memory
be a blessing.