Lawrence of Arabia

Although I didn’t know what to expect from our last lecture on Lawrence of Arabia:  Excavating the legend, it proved to be a fascinating insight to what was possibly one of the first examples of ‘celebrity’ and of ‘fake news’.  As always the lecture was deftly and professionally presented, and the story of T E Lawrence was told in sufficient detail to be interesting and intriguing but without boring.  We had glimpses into the background and upbringing of Lawrence that may have had a bearing on his later life, and his undoubted influence on modern warfare and the geo-political map of modern Middle East.   I also learnt about the use of archaeological techniques to verify Lawrence’s biographical accounts of his part in recent modern history – I never knew the role of tin-cans of condensed milk in deciphering recent modern history!