Saturday 19th September 2009
AGM followed by Hilary Wilson ‘The Annals of Tuthmose III’
The official account of the campaigns of Tuthmose III, known as The Annals, was inscribed on the outer walls of the sanctuary at the Karnak Temple. Unlike the propagandising spin of Ramesses II, Tuthmose’s inscription appears to be an accurate, if carefully edited, record of a remarkable military career. Many of the incidents described in the text can be confirmed from the autobiographical inscriptions of senior courtiers at the time. This talk assesses the reliability of the Annals and analyses some of the details as they have been illuminated by archaeological evidence and linguistic study.
Saturday 17th October 2009
Dr Aidan Dodson – ‘Amarna Sunset: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankhamun & the beginning of the Egyptian Counter-Reformation’
This lecture examines the decline and fall of Akhenaten's religious revolution. Beginning at the regime's high-point in his Year 12, it traces the subsequent collapse that saw the deaths of many of the King’s loved ones, his attempts to guarantee the revolution through co-rulers and the last frenzied assault on the god Amun. Among its conclusions are that Nefertiti was joint-pharaoh in turn with both her husband Akhenaten, and Tutankhaten, who was almost certainly her son. As such she was instrumental in beginning the return to orthodoxy, undoing her erstwhile husband's life-work before her own mysterious disappearance.
Saturday 21st November 2009
Charlotte Booth – ‘Festivals in Ancient Egypt’
The Egyptians were a serious nation, who worked hard and achieved a great deal. In order to relax, show their piousness, and maintain the cycle of life, their calendar was peppered with festivals; both local and national. Each festival had its individual rituals, processions, roles to play in the religious beliefs. This lecture will outline some of these events and emphasise the importance of festivals and celebrations to the ancient Egyptians.
Saturday 12th December 2009
SAES Christmas Party & Glenn Worthington – ‘Journeys in Middle Egypt’
Glenn is the Treasurer of the SAES with a life long interest in Ancient Egypt.This talk will be a visual romp through the well known (Amarna) and less well known (Fraser Tombs) sites of middle Egypt.
Saturday 16th January 2010 - MEETING CANCELLED
Lucia Gahlin – ‘In the Shadow of the Pyramids: Old Kingdom Life at Giza’
In this lecture we will explore the evidence for occupation at Giza during the Old Kingdom. We will examine the remains of housing and other settlement archaeology in order to assess the lives of pyramid builders, funerary priests and other members of Egyptian society living at Giza over 4500 years ago. We will focus on the 4th dynasty remains excavated by Mark Lehner and the Giza Plateau Mapping Project. We will also explore the Giza cemetery that reveals what it really meant to live in the shadow of the pyramids.
Saturday 20th February 2010
Sarah Jackman – ‘The Representation & Symbolism of the Royal Crowns of Ancient Egypt’
Representations of royal crowns identified the wearer as a king or deity and conveyed certain ideas and aspects of kingship or divinity through their symbolism, differing according to the type of crown worn. Today, this symbolism is little understood and much debated. This talk will introduce the royal crowns and discuss current theories regarding their representation and symbolism, focusing especially on the Red, White and Double crowns as an example of how closer examination of their representation brings into question our current understanding of these crowns’ meaning and symbolism.
Saturday 20th March 2010
Martin Davies – ‘Ancient Egyptian Tomb Models of Daily Life’
Fascinating little models and servant figures were placed in many Ancient Egyptian tombs. They represent people engaged in all manner of activities, either as single figures or as a group busily working in their particular settings such as granaries, bakeries, breweries, cattle sheds, and carpentry shops and weaving shops. Sometimes scenes of agriculture, model houses and gardens were included, together with model boats of various types, with their crews, so that the tomb owner and his family could travel on the Nile with livestock and goods of all kinds, or enjoy fishing and sporting activities.
Saturday 17th April 2010
Dylan Bickerstaffe – ‘The Egyptian Labyrinth: A Middle Kingdom Enigma’
Greek and Roman writers were adamant that The Labyrinth was Egypt's greatest wonder; as Herodotus said - surpassing even the pyramids. But what sort of building was it, who built it, and why? In the modern era, it had vanished so completely that several explorers, including Belzoni, failed to find it. This talk follows the rediscovery of the Labyrinth, excavations and finds made on the site, and the attempts by Petrie and others to reconstruct the form of this unique building. We also see how modern research has thrown light on the problem, suggesting that clues may be found in surprising, yet familiar places.
Saturday 15th May 2010
John Wyatt – ‘The Pharaohs’ Birds’
A detailed study of the mummies, bone records, hieroglyphs, art and artefacts of Ancient Egypt has enabled 'Hercules Poirot' Wyatt to identify or re-identify nearly 180 species of bird that then occurred from Pre-dynastic times through to the end of the Roman Period. This talk covers just some of the more interesting discoveries made.
Saturday 19th June 2010
Bob Partridge – ‘The Temple of Amun at Karnak: A comprehensive site tour & news of the latest discoveries there’
The temple of Amun at Karnak is one of the most-visited sites in Egypt, but visitors often find it difficult to understand the temple, which evolved by being extended and altered over almost two thousand years. Few visitors realise that the temple we see today owes much to work done at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth to restore a temple which was in a serious state of decay and with, for example, parts of the Great Hypostyle having collapsed. Excavations and research over the last twenty or thirty years in particular have revealed much about the history of the site, which is still revealing new surprises today.
Saturday 10th July 2010
Society Trip: The New Egypt galleries at Brighton Museum – departure time to be advised
While the SAES makes every effort to ensure these events take place as advertised, occasionally changes to our programme do occur due to unforeseen circumstances. In the event of this happening the SAES makes every effort to inform members, guests and visitors beforehand. Please check for known programme changes on this website or alternatively contact the SAES secretary on 07973 203751.