previous-meetings

2019 Meetings:

12 ^th January 2019

Thames Valley Ancient Egypt Society http://www.tvaes.org.uk/

The emergence of the Egyptian State - links with the landscape evolution of the Nile Delta

Dr Ben Pennington

Around 3100 BC, early upstream centres of culture were transformed into a larger territory encompassing all Egypt. Recent work shows the deltaic landscapes downstream to have been highly dynamic. A new model suggests that this landscape remodelling may have allowed, or even stimulated, a variety of important socioeconomic changes in this region which could have impacted upon the emergence of Dynastic Egypt.

9 ^th February 2019

Thames Valley Ancient Egypt Society http://www.tvaes.org.uk/

“Lost in Time & Space : Unrolling Egypt Ancient’s Dead”.

John Johnson

The practice of publicly unrolling mummies has been viewed as both a ghoulish spectacle for affluent sensation seekers and as an early scientific approach to the emerging discipline of Egyptology. This lecture places the practice within the social, cultural and historical context.

16 ^th February 2019

Southampton Ancient Egypt Society http://www.southamptonancientegyptsociety.co.uk/

'Mummies and the Movies'

Mark Walker

This talk looks at ancient Egyptian mummies and how they have been depicted in the cinema from the silent era, through the classic Hollywood period, up to the present day. Particular emphasis is placed on the inspiration provided by the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb and the curse associated with it, and on the development of elaborate make-up techniques used for actors like Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jnr and Christopher Lee.

9 ^th March

Thames Valley Ancient Egypt Society http://www.tvaes.org.uk/

Tell Nabasha: Investigating the City of the Snake Goddess

Dr Nicky Nielsen

Since 2015, the University of Liverpool has conducted investigations into the history and development of the ancient city of Imet (modern Tell Nabasha) in the northeastern Nile Delta. These investigations have included traditional excavations, archival research and remote sensing surveys. This talk will discuss the preliminary results and the future plans of the project.

9 ^th March

National Museum of Scotland www.nms.ac.uk/womeninegyptology

Pioneers: Women in Egyptology

TV presenter Margaret Mountford, researcher Lee Young and academic Heba Abd el Gawad

To mark International Women’s Day, celebrate the achievements of women in Egyptology past and present. Join TV presenter Margaret Mountford, researcher Lee Young and academic Heba Abd el Gawad as they tell the stories of the talented and tenacious women whose work has left a lasting legacy in this field.

16 ^th March

Southampton Ancient Egypt Society http://www.SouthamptonAncientEgyptSociety.co.uk/

‘Going to the Dogs: New Work at the Catacombs of Anubis, North Saqqara.’

Paul Nicholson

No serious work has been carried out at the North Saqqara Catacombs of Anubis, known since the late 19th Century, before Nicholson’s present project. The re-mapped galleries have been re-interpreted and the number of animals they might have held is very much higher than previously believed, now thought to number in the millions. This talk reviews the history of the catacomb and the new work carried out there.

13 ^th April

Thames Valley Ancient Egypt Society http://www.tvaes.org.uk/

Birth and Rebirth: Death as a Rite of Passage in Ancient Egypt

Lucia Gahlin

For the ancient Egyptians death heralded rebirth into an afterlife. The heavily ritualised period following death enabled the deceased to be reborn into this afterlife. In this lecture, Lucia will present archaeological material and ancient texts in order to explore the rituals that shed light on death as a rite of passage. For the ancient Egyptians, the sequence conception, birth and early childhood, were mirrored by death, rebirth and the initial stage of journeying into the afterlife (a period of nourishment and protection from danger).

13 ^th April

Southampton Ancient Egypt Society http://www.SouthamptonAncientEgyptSociety.co.uk/

‘Egypt’s Origins – The View From Mesopotamia and Iran.’

Paul Collins

The significance of cultural borrowings from Mesopotamia and Elam in the formation of the Egyptian state during the period 3500 – 2900 BC has long been debated. This talk will explore the evidence from Syria, Iraq and Iran for the emergence of cities, trade routes and associated technology and art that provides the wider context for the emergence of Egyptian kingship.

11 ^th May

Thames Valley Ancient Egypt Society http://www.tvaes.org.uk/

TVAES' 25th anniversary lecture

Pharaohs & Governors of Middle Kingdom Egypt

George Hart

Outstanding sculptures and paintings, exquisitely executed hieroglyphs, brilliant craftsmanship and literature of great eloquence form the background to the dynamic reigns of the kings ruling Egypt in the early second millennium BC. We shall look at the political impact of these pharaohs on Egypt and Nubia from the re-unification of the northern and southern kingdoms under Mentuhotep II in Dynasty XI and remarkable pharaohs of Dynasty XII such as Senwosret III whose stern control of the country seems reflected in the portraiture of his statues. But the main thrust of the lecture will be the vivid visual evidence illustrating leisure pursuits and working life painted on the walls of tombs of the governors of the Oryx Nome at Beni Hasan

18 ^th May

Southampton Ancient Egypt Society http://www.SouthamptonAncientEgyptSociety.co.uk/

‘Egypt in Rome: Obelisks and Ancient Cultural Appropriation.’

Luigi Prada

More obelisks stand in Rome than in all of Egypt. More are found in locations around the Roman Empire. From the time of Augustus the Romans removed obelisks from Egypt to display as monuments to their power. The Romans also commissioned new obelisks carved with unique and peculiar inscriptions, monuments of cultural appropriation, by which Rome laid claim to Egypt’s linguistic, religious and artistic traditions. Archaeological context combined with newly translated inscriptions, show how Egyptian obelisks fitted a political agenda as well as Roman cultural life.

June, July and October

Bloomsbury Summer School http://www.egyptology-uk.com/bloomsbury

Ancient Egypt, Assyria and Mesoamerica Hieroglyphs, Coptic, Archaeology, Ancient History and Literature

Programme PDF

1 ^st June

Thames Valley Ancient Egypt Society http://www.tvaes.org.uk/

For Whom the Sun Doth Shine: Nefertari Beloved of Mut

Dylan Bickerstaffe

Nefertari, the Great Royal Wife of Ramesses II appears on numerous monuments, received the most exquisitely decorated tomb, and even had her own temple at Abu Simbel. In this talk we consider the reasons why she was so uniquely honoured by the mighty Ramesses; especially when compared to his other Great Wife, Isitnofret.

15 ^th June

Southampton Ancient Egypt Society http://www.SouthamptonAncientEgyptSociety.co.uk/

'Gebel Barkal, The Holy Mountain of Napata.’

Robert Morkot

Rising some 300 feet the flat-topped sheer-sided mountain is a prominent landmark near the Fourth Cataract of the Nile. Recognised as the dwelling place of Amun by Tuthmose III, later pharaohs built a temple in front of the cliff. As the principal religious shrine of the Kushite kings it was greatly extended and decorated with monuments. The talk looks at the history and archaeology of the site, and some of the weirder ideas that have been proposed.

6 ^th July

Thames Valley Ancient Egypt Society http://www.tvaes.org.uk/

Special Study Day:10:00 – 4:30

Professor Aidan Dodson on ‘Seti I’

20 ^th July

Southampton Ancient Egypt Society http://www.SouthamptonAncientEgyptSociety.co.uk/

Study Day - ‘Valley of the Kings.’

Aidan Dodson

The Valley of the Kings is perhaps the most famous cemetery in the world. For more than four centuries it hosted the burials of numerous kings, queens, princes, princesses and nobles of Egypt. Today, we survey the valley’s history looking in detail at some of its most important sepulchres and their contents. We also take a look at the memorial temples, built some distance away on the edge of the cultivation, but intimately linked with the tombs themselves as part of the magical machine that facilitated the dead kings’ rebirth and eternal life.

9 ^th November (Philip Wickens Memorial Lecture)

Thames Valley Ancient Egypt Society http://www.tvaes.org.uk/

Move over Osiris here comes Serapis!

Paul Whelan

Cultic life at Abydos, focused on Osiris as God of the Underworld and Fertility for so long, changed with the Ptolemaic introduction of the hybrid god Serapis (a fusion of Egyptian and Greek deities).

14 ^th December

Thames Valley Ancient Egypt Society http://www.tvaes.org.uk/

Cleopatra: How much Egyptian?

Professor Alan Lloyd

In cinema portrayals heavily Egyptianised, the extent to which this famous Ptolemaic queen left her Greek family roots and culture is open to question. Her Roman enemies certainly used this against her.