Recent excavations in the tomb complex of queen Meret-Neith of the 1st Dynasty with E. Christiana Köhler

This Monday (14th July) is the final monthly lecture of our season!

For last 130 years, since the somewhat accidental discovery of the royal tombs of the 1st and 2nd Dynasties by the French Coptologist E. Amélineau, the site of Abydos Umm el-Qaab has fascinated scholars for its enormous value regarding early Egyptian history and material culture. Numerous British, French and German archaeologsist have excavated here, and each time discovered significant new details about this site. The tomb of queen Meret-Neith, however, has been very much neglected for a long time, which has probably many reasons. Its recent re-excavation, however, has produced an enormous amount of exciting new evidence about this queen, the dynasty and the early state she represented, as well as the people buried in the subsidiary graves around her. This lecture will give a brief overview of our current research.

Professor Köhler is Head of the Department of Egyptology at the University of Vienna with research interests in Egyptian archaeology, Pre-and Early Dynastic Egypt and ancient Egyptian society and social structures. She has published many papers covering her excavations at the Helwan necropolis in ancient Memphis, and is also involved in projects at Umm el-Qaab at Abydos and the University of Vienna Middle Egypt Project.

Everyone welcome! Free email link to MAES members; guests may book via Eventbrite here:

Our new season begins in September 2025 – keep an eye on the website for details of the new lecture programme!