Over 4000 years ago, the bustling civic center of Nippur was center of the universe for ancient Sumerians. They would bring sacrifices to Bel’s temple recorded in cuneiform on clay tablets and cylinders, and leave traces of tiles or delicately-fashioned clay figurines of gods and animals for later explorers to uncover. One such explorer was Rowe native and Williams College graduate, John Henry Haynes. On Saturday, October 21 at 2 p.m. we will celebrate October’s Archaeology Month with Haynes’ biographer, Robert G. Ousterhout, author of John Henry Haynes: a photographer and archaeologist in the Ottoman Empire 1881-1890. Haynes left representative items from his four excavations at Nippur (Iraq) to the North Adams Public Library, the Rowe Historical Society and Williams College upon his untimely death in 1910. His is a tale of bravery and intrigue, of dogged determination and hubris. This is your chance to meet our very own Indiana Jones and view many of the treasures he left behind. Light refreshments will be served.
This event is co-sponsored by the MCLA History Department, the North Adams Historical and Genealogical Society, and the North Adams Public Library with support from the Massachusetts Historical Commission.
Photo courtesy of Rowe Historical Society
