Location Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BE
Date and time
Friday 5 April 2024
18:00 - 21:00 (London BST)
20:00 - 23:00 (Ankara UTC+3)
Speakers
Mark Weeden
University College London
2024 Oliver Gurney Memorial Lecture
18:00 Arrival and drinks
18:30 Introduction and reminiscence by Andrew George
18:45 – 19:30 Lecture by Mark Weeden followed by Q&A
19:30 Drinks reception and light bites
How to say “no” in Hieroglyphic Luwian and other Decipherments of David Hawkins by Mark Weeden
David Hawkins, who died in December 2023, made a unique contribution to the study of the ancient world. This individuality is exemplified by the difficulty his colleagues had in labelling him: archaeologist, historian, epigrapher, philologist, cuneiformist, decipherer, Hittitologist, Assyriologist. He took a whole-view approach to whatever he researched. This lecture will look at the way David’s work changed the fields which he studied and laid a solid basis for what has become a field of study of its own: Hieroglyphic Luwian. It will give some overview of the current state of Hittitology in the light of his contributions.
There is no charge for this event, but you are invited to make a donation to WaterAid in memory of David, https://professor-david-hawkins.muchloved.com.
This is a joint event hosted by BIAA and the British Institute for the Study of Iraq (BISI).
Watch the lecture here.
Mark Weeden was David Hawkins' last PhD student, last successor in post, and collaborated with him on numerous projects after his retirement. Thanks to an anonymous private donation, he now works at UCL as Associate Professor of Ancient Middle Eastern Languages in the Department of Greek and Latin.