Lecture explains monumental mysteries

Standing stones in Northern Europe - built between 3600 and 3200BC. - will be in the spotlight at the University’s next Munro Lecture.

Professor Johannes Müller, from Kiel University in Germany, will discuss the monuments - constructed in their thousands, across hundreds of miles - asking who erected them, and why.

This is the first lecture in the 2015 series, which will see distinguished international scholars covering a range of topics in the fields of archaeology and anthropology.

All lectures are open to the public and no booking is required.

Wide-ranging themes

Associations between social sciences and biology, chemistry and physics will be explored by Professor Annemarie Mol from the University of Amsterdam.

During the lecture on 26 February, Professor Mol will argue that links between the disciplines can be better understood by examining the human body when it is eating or drinking.

Professor Fred Myers, of New York University, will look at Aboriginal paintings during his lecture on 19 March.

Professor Myers will discuss the early paintings by Indigenous groups in Central Australia, and how they have been perceived by other cultures.

In the last lecture of the series, James T. Siegel, Professor Emeritus at Cornell University, will examine the aftermath of the Aceh War, which was prompted by the Dutch invasion of the Sultanate of Aceh in Indonesia in 1873.

Professor Siegel will argue that, contrary to many theories, the war did not end in 1914 when the sultan died, but that it continued for a further 25 years.

The Munro Trust

The Munro Trust was established by Dr Robert Munro in 1910.

Dr Munro (1835-1920) was an Edinburgh graduate and a celebrated medical practitioner. A keen archaeologist, he retired from practice in 1885 to devote himself to the subject.

He established the lectureship to bring scholars from across the globe to Edinburgh in order to share their knowledge of matters relating to anthropology and archaeology.