MONMOUTH, Ill. — Pamela Gaber will deliver the next archaeology lecture at Monmouth College on March 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the lower level classrooms of the Huff Athletic Center. Sponsored by the Western Illinois Society of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) and the MC Classics department, the series is free and open to the public.

Gaber, director of the University of Arizona’s expedition to Idalion, Cyprus, will speak on “The Sculpture of Ancient Cyprus: Portraits of a Culture.”

Gaber said that for many years, Cypriote sculpture has been compared to works from ancient Greece, but “its proper historical and cultural milieu” is in the Near Eastern votive tradition.

“Once seen in this context, it becomes easier to see how the products of the prolific sculptural schools of Cyprus functioned in their culture,” Gaber said. “The sculpture becomes a living, breathing artifact that can tell us about trade and religion as well as about art.”