The ‘Sea Peoples’ and the end of the Late Bronze Age

February 15th – March 22nd 2022 7-9pm

Robert Morkot

6 Sessions

On-line via Zoom

The ‘Sea Peoples’ have been blamed for the ‘collapse’ of the Late Bronze age states of the Eastern
Mediterranean. From Mycenaean Greece, through the lands of the Hittite Empire to the Levant, destruction levels in archaeological sites have been attributed to their marauding bands. As a result, there was mass movement of population towards Egypt which, we are told, was driven back by Ramesses III. These people, identified as the Shekelesh, Shardana, Lukka with their allies the Peleset and others, have dominated perceptions about the period from the late 19th century to now – their presence is firmly established in the literature. Here we look at the evidence and the interpretations of the archaeology and the ‘Dark Age’ that followed the end of the Bronze Age.