Jerusalem and Mecca

February 26, 7:30pm - 8:30pm
Mānoa Campus, Architecture Auditorium, Architecture Building

Dr. David Gurevich, Harvard University

Jerusalem and Mecca are probably the most famous holy cities of the Near East. They both have been birth sites of new religions. They both have been objects of longing from the ancient times. They both are destinations of pilgrimage. The motivating power behind the pilgrimage movement derives from spiritual perception, which impels masses of believers to depart from distant places to the sacred site. Jews committed pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem three time a year until its destruction in 70 CE. Muslims embarked for the journeys to Mecca during the Hajj from the dawn of Islam. As a unique phenomenon for Jerusalem and Mecca, one shall expect the pilgrimage to be reflected also in the urban landscape. However, how one can recognize the pilgrimage in the archaeological record? In the past, the archaeologist laid a stress on small finds that testify to the pilgrimage movement: cultic artefacts, "souvenirs", foreign coins and imported pottery vessels that were brought to the sites. An innovative proposal of the author suggests to seek for more prominent traces: big water pools that have never received a scholarly attention as a unique phenomenon bearing a cultural explanation.


Ticket Information
Free

Event Sponsor
LLEA, Archaeological Institute of America, Hillel-Hawaii, Islamic Society at UH, U H Fund for the Promotion of Jewish Life and Studies, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Robert Littman, 808-956-4173, littman@hawaii.edu

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