C. Brian Rose is the James B. Pritchard Professor of Archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania and a Past President of the Archaeological Institute of America.

The wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria during the last two decades have profoundly influenced scholars and how they deal with the art and material culture of antiquity. In this lecture, archaeologist C. Brian Rose draws on his own experiences with museums, foreign wars, and archaeology to discuss the ways in which the past now dominates the present. He gives an overview of cultural heritage destruction and preservation programs in conflict zones and considers the subject of museums and repatriation requests in an age of increasing nationalism.

The 30th Annual Phyllis Williams Lehmann Lecture is sponsored by the Western Massachusetts Society of the Archaeological Institute of America (https://aiawesternmass.org/).