Peter James

Peter James (1952 - 2024) was a British author specializing in the ancient history and archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean region, with key related interests being chronology (dating techniques), ancient technology and astronomy, and sub-Roman Britain. He graduated in archaeology and ancient history at the University of Birmingham and pursued postgraduate research in ancient history at University College London. He has published four books (three co-authored) on various aspects of ancient history.

Alternative Bronze Age chronology

In his best known work, Centuries of Darkness (1991), he and four colleagues challenged traditional chronology for the Bronze to Iron Ages in the Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean. In particular, they advanced the idea that the Greek Dark Ages can be drastically reduced and arose solely from a misreading of key elements of the history of ancient Egypt. Ongoing criticism and discussion of the evidence is listed on the authors' own website. Reviews at the time were sharply divided on the merits of the book, but there was generally more praise for the critique of problems in the conventional ancient Egyptian chronology than for the proposed knock-on revisions to the chronologies of surrounding cultures. The Centuries of Darkness (CoD) debate has recently been met with increased interest, partly due to the organisation of three colloquiums on the subject of ancient World Chronology.

Attempts to identify Atlantis

In The Sunken Kingdom: The Atlantis Mystery Solved, James gives a hypothesis for the location of Atlantis. By first claiming that references to mythological Tantalis by Plato were in fact meant to identify a Lydian king by the name of Tantalus, James identifies Atlantis with a hypothetical lost temple city called Tantalis, now Manisa, Turkey.