Dr. Paul Zimansky received his undergraduate degree in Classics at Johns Hopkins University and then did his PhD at the University of Chicago in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. He has taught at UC Berkeley and Boston University before his current position as Professor of Archaeology and Ancient History at SUNY Stony Brook, where his wife and frequent collaborator, Dr. Elizabeth Stone, is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology. Prior to the outbreak of the recent wars in Iraq, Dr. Zimansky participated in and led excavations at Nippur, Bastam, Tell Hamide, and Mashkan-shapir, which will be the site he presents to us. Mashkan-shapir is approximately 100 miles southeast of Baghdad and in its hey day was larger than the famed Sumerian city of Ur. Mashkan-shapir was dedicated to the deity Nergal, the Mesopotamian god of death, and its rulers were rivals of the famed Babylonian king, Hammurabi. Recent satellite and aerial photography reveals that this once thriving city that contained extensive, well-preserved and highly significant archaeological remains has been looted on an industrial scale.
"City of the Grim Reaper: Rediscovery and Demise at Mashkan-shapir, Iraq"
Chan Auditorium, 7:30 PM
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