Friday 28 April 2023 – Talk by Divina Centore and Tommaso Montonati
We had presentations by Divina Centore and Tommaso Montonati from the Museo Egizio in Turin related to their talk ‘Tell ME More: From the Archives to the Interpretation.’ This event was held on Zoom.
Wednesday 15 March 2023 – Shabti making workshop
Our March meeting was an opportunity for attendees to try their hand at creating their own replica clay shabti. Cannon Fairbairn provided an overview of this popular object type, including some shabtis from the Eton Myers collection, currently on loan to the University of Birmingham.
Hopefully now all our attendees feel much better prepared for the afterlife!
Tuesday 28 February 2023 – Talk by Dr Carolyn Routledge
Talk by Dr Carolyn Routledge on Major M.J. Myers, the collector responsible for the majority of the objects currently on loan to the University of Birmingham.
Check out the recording of the lecture at youtu.be/UQoSJb0gqkA.
Thursday 26 January 2023 – Egyptian quiz
To celebrate the new year, we held an ancient Egyptian-themed quiz after an overview of games in ancient Egypt. We then had the chance to try out some ancient Egyptian inspired board games.
Wednesday 19 October 2022 – Beadwork bash!
Our October event proved to be extremely popular with a full room for the in-person element, and lots of online delegates too! We had a basic overview of beadwork commonly found in ancient Egypt, and a demonstration of two basic beading stitches.
Friday 23 September 2022 – Brunch with Bab!
Birmingham Egyptology hosted a light brunch on Selly Oak campus for new and returning students to give their input on upcoming events. There was also an opportunity to check out the amazing Eton Myers collection.
It was great to meet some new faces, and Bab the Baboon (our mascot) particularly enjoyed eating all the bananas!
Thursday 29 April 2022 – Virtual tour of the Egypt Centre, Swansea
A virtual tour was given by Dr Ken Griffin, Collections Access Manager at the Egypt Centre in Swansea, Wales. The Egypt Centre houses the largest collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts in Wales.
Friday 8 April 2022 – Creating a temporary exhibition in the Eton Myers collection
A temporary exhibition was prepared by Birmingham Egyptology using the Eton Myers collection for participants in the Birmingham Symposium to attend.
The theme was on ‘Sacred Words’ focused on the role of writing in ancient Egypt and Egyptology.
Friday 18 March 2022 – Talk by Valentina Santini
Valentina Santini, a current postgraduate researcher at the University of Birmingham, gave a fascinating talk entitled ‘Egypt in Florence: A Journey through Obelisks, Pyramids and Hieroglyphs.’
Friday 4 March 2022 – Beadwork bash!
A session was led by Sam Powell on beadwork, experimenting with two main stitches from ancient Egypt: a ladder stitch and netting stitch.
Hiatus due to COVID-19 pandemic
Friday 25 January 2019 – Discussion on the Graeco-Roman Period
This talk explored these key questions:
- What about the Graeco-Roman Period do we often focus on in teaching ancient Egyptian history/research, and is this ever ‘enough’ (e.g. usually one lecture/seminar series compared to time devoted to New Kingdom)?
- What are the modern opinions/impressions/(mis)conceptions of the period, and how much of this is fuelled by Egyptology or other disciplines?
Friday 7 December 2018 Talk by Dr Val Billingham
Talk about Amelia Edwards, her famous novel – A Thousand Miles up the Nile, and the history of the Egypt Exploration Society.
Friday 23 November 2018 – Talk by Dr James Bennett
Talk about Dr James Bennett’s work at Tell Timai and the general nature of excavating in the Delta.
For further information about the excavation, check out the Tell Timai website
Friday 9 November 2018 – Talk by Dr Ilaria Cariddi
Joined by Dr Ilaria Cariddi to discuss her doctoral research on the value of silence in ancient Egypt.
Friday 26 October 2018 – Discussion on decolonisation and the nature of private collections
Discussions around different organisations like universities and museums and their engagement with the decolonisation of their collections.
Friday 12 October 2018 Discussion on myth debunking and conspiracies
Key questions to guide conversations:
- How far do we (and should we) engage with conspiracy theories and misconceptions of ancient Egypt?
- How often does modern engagement and interpretation of ancient Egypt involve reliable sources?
- What do certain theories (e.g. ‘aliens built the pyramids’) tell us about modern views of the ancient Egyptian people?
Friday 16 March 2018 – Talk by Dr Margaret Mountford
Joined by Dr Margaret Mountford, Chair of the Egypt Exploration Society, for a talk entitled ‘Riches from rubbish tips: the Oxyrhynchus papyri.’
Friday 16 February 2018 – Discussion on Egyptian Society & Environmental History
Talk involved a debate and discussion of the ancient Egyptian environment, and considered the following questions:
- How much of the environmental history of Egypt is utilised in understanding the structure of society?
- Does scientific analysis of the ancient environment over or under influence our understanding of society (e.g. in particular periods of history)?
- Is the environmental history of other regions overlooked, or even over emphasised?
Friday 2 February 2018 – Talk by Dr Martin Bommas
Joined by Dr Martin Bommas for a talk on Egyptian harbours at Aswan.
Friday 19 January 2018 – Talk by Dr Valeria Turriziani
Joined by Dr Valeria Turriziani on the topic ‘ix nTr xm “What is a minor god?”. Some reflections on the Egyptian pantheon from the origins to the end of the Old Kingdom.’
Friday 17 November 2017 – Discussion on ethnicity in ancient Egypt
Session led by Dr Edward Mushett-Cole on the increasingly contentious topic of race, ethnicity, and socio-cultural markers, when discussing ancient societies.
Friday 3 November 2017 – Discussion on magic and medicine in ancient Egypt
Friday 20 October 2017 – Discussion on external perspectives of ancient Egypt
Discussion guided by following questions:
- How far can we establish ‘facts’ by consulting foreign accounts?
- How has the Classical lens affected Egyptology?
- Do different routes into the subject train students in different practical or theoretical approaches? Does studying different disciplines help our understanding of the topic?
- Problems of a Biblical Proportion: How much is Egyptology merely used by other subjects to ‘prove’ their own claims, with little regard for historical, archaeological, or logical accuracy, or indeed merely as a backdrop?
Friday 6 October 2017 – Discussion on the relationship of text and image