Founded in 1968, the Niagara Peninsula Society of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) hosts monthly illustrated lectures on diverse topics related to the study and practice of archaeology and art history, including the preservation of cultural heritage, Classical and Near Eastern archaeology, and underwater archaeology.

The Department of Classics and Archaeology is pleased to be affiliated with the Niagara Peninsula Society of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) and to help facilitate its programming. AIA lectures are free and open to the public. All are welcome to attend!

Our events this year will include a mixture of online and in-person events.

Online lectures will be held using MS Teams. Over the course of the year, a link will be added to each of the events listed below. If you would like to join us for an online event, please visit this page and click on the link associated with that event (about two weeks before the event). This link will take you to a registration form that will give you the MS Teams link needed in order to join the event. Please save the link in order to use on the day to join us. You will need to register for each online AIA event that you want to attend.

During the lectures, we ask that audience members mute their microphones and turn off their cameras. The moderator and speaker will hold Q&A time after each lecture. If you would like to ask a question, this can best be done by typing a question in the chat area.

In-person lectures and events are usually held in Academic South (STH) 215 on the Brock University campus. Parking is free in Lots 1 and 2 (previously known as Zone 1 and 2) and all accessible parking on campus on weekends.

Please visit this page REGULARLY to see UPDATED DETAILS ON SOCIETY EVENTS AS WE WORK TO FOLLOW UNIVERSITY COVID PROTOCOLS FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR COMMUNITY.

Sunday, September 17 @ 3:00 pm [STH 215]
Nathan Elkins (America Numismatic Society)
Norton Lecturer
“Coins and the Colosseum: How Numismatic Evidence Illuminates the Greatest Amphitheater”

Saturday, October 21 @ 2:00 pm [Brock Monument, Queenston Heights Park]
INTERNATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGY DAY
“The History of Brock’s Monuments and the Lasting Legacy of Major General Sir Isaac Brock”
Queenston Battlefield Monuments/Friends of Fort George
For this event, please register in advance: here
Cost of admission: $5.00
*Will be held rain or shine, so please dress accordingly

Sunday, October 29 @ 3:00 pm [Online]
Eric Cline (George Washington University)
“1177 BC Revisited: Updating the Late Bronze Age Collapse”
To register click here [link coming soon].

Wednesday, November 29 @ 5:30 pm [STH 216*]
Conor Whately (University of Winnipeg)
“Romans and Nabataeans in Ancient Arabia”
Reception: 5:00 pm
*Please note the different room location for this lecture.

Friday, January 19 @ 5:30 pm [Online]
Victoria Austen (Carleton College)
“Gardens of Commemoration: On the Afterlife of the Mausoleum of Augustus”

Friday, February 9 @ 5:30 pm [STH 215]
George Webber (Friends of the Forgotten)
“Friends of the Forgotten: a look at the final resting place of early Black Canadians in Niagara”
Reception: 5:00 pm

Friday, March 15 @ 5:30 pm [STH 215]
Ulrike Al-Khamis (Aga Khan Museum)
“An Alternate Perspective on ‘The Museum’”
Reception: 5:00 pm

For further information call the Department of Classics and Archaeology at 905-688-5550, ext. 3575; or find us on Facebook @AIANiagara.

Celebrating International Archaeology Day

The Niagara Peninsula Society has been involved in celebrating International Archaeology Day for the past few years with a variety of activities. This year, several undergraduate students from BUAS and graduate students enrolled in Archaeological Ethics (pictured above left) were at the downtown branch of the St Catharines Public Library to share their love of archaeology with the general public and discuss recent threats to cultural heritage from groups such as ISIL. Previous Archaeology Day celebrations have involved making (and tasting wine) in ceramic storage jars, displays at the St Catharines Farmers’ Market and hands-on discussions of artifacts in Brock’s Cypriote Museum. Brock has a long tradition of Cypriote archaeology; several lectures have been held to recognize the university’s association and in memory of Brock Classics professor and Cypriote archaeologist Danielle Parks who passed away tragically in 2007.

Fred Truckenbrodt Travel Grant for Students

The Niagara Peninsula Society established a travel grant for students to be awarded each year for three consecutive years (2012, 2013, 2014) in memory of Fred Truckenbrodt, a long-time member of our society who was passionate about archaeology and travel in the Mediterranean and deeply committed to the AIA and its activities. The 2014 recipient of the award was Brian Abfal, an undergraduate major in Classics, who participated in Brock’s Archaeological Practicum (CLAS 3F75) in Gournia; he is pictured (above right) receiving his award from Dr. Angus Smith who led the practicum there in the summer of 2014.