Rural Palestine Between Written and Oral Sources

Archaeological explorations of Late Islamic (Mamluk to British Mandate) rural sites in Palestine/Israel have focused on the material culture and the evidence provided by external observers, ignoring the perspectives of the local inhabitants. Using the work of the Palestinian Rural History Project, curated by Roy Marom, this lecture will highlight the rich answers offered by oral narrations and historical documents to outstanding historical, historical-geographical and archaeological questions. Although separated by space and time, these sources can be read as parts of the same longue durée that has formed the basis for the historical consciousness of Palestine's inhabitants since Mamluk times.