Ben Johnson, the artist who painted Jerusalem, The Eternal City, is among the international and Irish figures who will speak during a series of free public lectures to accompany the exhibition. On three Saturday afternoons each month during September, October and November, nine experts will address aspects of Jerusalem.

Johnson will speak on his work on the painting on September 22nd under the title "Drawing Upon the Spiritual: Reconstructing Jerusalem and Painting as a Journey of Discovery".

The Irish experts include Father Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, the Cork-born Dominican biblical archaeologist and professor of New Testament at the ╔cole Biblique et ArchΘologique Franτaise in Jerusalem. Father Murphy-O'Connor, the author of an acclaimed archaeological guide used by many Irish tourists and pilgrims, will speak on "Mamluk Jerusalem" on September 15th.

Seβn Freyne, professor of Hebrew at Trinity College in Dublin, will speak on the theme "From Jesus to Constantine: Jerusalem in Early Christian Piety and Imagination" on October 6th. Dr David Morray of the department of Near-Eastern languages at University College Dublin will talk about the "Trials and Tribulations of a Late Victorian Consul at Jerusalem" on November 10th.

The international speakers include Martin Biddle, professor of medieval archeology at Oxford University, who will talk about recent investigations into the Tomb of Christ at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

A parallel programme of videos on Sunday afternoons seeks to broaden the appeal of the exhibition to a wider public, and includes, appropriately, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, with Harrison Ford.