Georg Cyrus studied Near Eastern Archaeology at FU Berlin. He received his PhD in 2022 with a dissertation about squatter occupations in the Iron Age of southwest Asia. His project at NINO (2022-2024) is titled 

Lower Classes in the Neo-Assyrian Empire – Reconstructing Standards of Living with Household Archaeology

While palaces, temples and elite residences in the Neo-Assyrian Empire are well researched, the same cannot be claimed for houses of the lower classes. Although several buildings have been completely or partly excavated, comparative studies of this kind of housing are missing. The subject of this talk is to elucidate this gap in research. It presents the potential data for conducting a household archaeology of the poor and how to interpret these, for example in regard to understanding general living conditions. Finally this study is grounded in the broader frame of writing a bottom-up history of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

• Date: Wednesday 5 October
• Time: 17.00-18.00 lecture, 18.00-19.00 drinks
• Location: Van Steenis Building, room B1.11/Main Hall

This lecture is to introduce our new Postdoctoral Research Fellow and his research to all students and colleagues interested in the Ancient Near East. Afterwards there are drinks in the main hall of the Van Steenis Building. Please join us!