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Saturday 20 December 2025 1400 UK Time
Heidi Köpp-Junk: 'Excavations in Abydos: from the Scorpion King to Khasekhemui.'
Description: The tomb of the ruler Scorpion I (U-j) in Abydos is a tomb of superlatives. A total of 4500 litres of Palestinian wine were given to the king as grave goods. The large number of imported vessels testifies to the immense mobility and far-reaching trading activities of Predynastic Egypt in the 4th millennium BC. In addition, very early Egyptian written records were found in the tomb. With its 59 chambers and corridors, the tomb of Khasechemui in Abydos is not only surprisingly large, but also reveals a complex building history with its various construction phases. No less exciting are the grave goods including stone vessels with gold lids and countless sacrificial and utility vessels. But above all, as the second unifier of the Two Lands, Khasekhemui laid the political, social and architectural foundations from which the Old Kingdom could emerge. This talk is based on Heidi’s many years of work in Abydos and presents her excavation results and research to give an insight into the 2nd Dynasty as the cradle of Egyptian high culture.
Biography: Dr. Heidi Köpp-Junk(Egyptologist, Music Archaeologist, classically trained singer) is Assistant Professor in Egyptian Archaeology at the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures, Polish Academy of Sciences Warsaw. She studied Egyptology, Prehistory, and Ethnology at the Göttingen University and did her Ph.D. about Travel in Pharaonic Egypt. Since then she worked at different universities(Göttingen, Münster, Trier, Tübingen) and museums (British Museum, RPM Hildesheim, Prehistory Museum Halle, Völklinger Hütte, MNHA Luxembourg). She excavated in Germany and Egypt (Dahshur, Elephantine, Buto, Sakkara, Qantir, Abydos, Athribis, Tuna el-Gebel). She published more than 110 scientific articles and books as e.g. about music, travel and mobility, Nefertiti, dewatering systems, etc. As a trained singer she performs songs from ancient Egypt, composed by her from texts like pHarris 500 and pChester Beatty while playing a replica of a lute from the time of Tutankhamun and other instruments (sistrum, lyre, rattle, frame drum etc.).
The waiting room will open about 13.45 for a 14.00 start UK time.
Zoom Meeting Joining Instructions
To join the meeting on 20 December 2025 all you have to do is follow these steps:
1: Click/tap on the registration link you have been sent. You will be asked to enter your name and email address to register for the meeting. Visitors please contact the Secretary at saesinfo55@gmail.com to obtain links.
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Registration for the meeting will open in November 2025.
