This Monday (June 13th) we welcome back Roland Enmarch to give an in person lecture to the Manchester AE Society!

Roland Enmarch: Ex-pats and vassal princes: some curious international messengers in the final decades of the late Bronze Age (mid-late 13th C BC)

In the last few decades of the 1200s BC, the international diplomatic system of the Late Bronze Age Near East was entering its twilight. Sources from Egypt, Ugarit, and northern Syria all provide tantalising glimpses of a world of complex identities, shifting allegiances, and ex-pats in the service of foreign powers. Cuneiform sources from Assyria show that Egypt’s vassal, the Levantine city of Sidon, was sending messengers to the Assyrian king. Was this treachery, or was he doing the Egyptian king’s bidding? A hitherto neglected Egyptian papyrus offers some interesting answers…. 

Roland Enmarch is Senior Lecturer in Egyptology at the University of Liverpool, specialising in Egyptian written culture of Ancient Egypt. His research interests include Egyptian literature, and Egyptian expeditions and resource procurement. A former Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, his publications include A World Upturned (2008) and Ancient Egyptian Literature: Theory and Practice (2013). He is co-director of the Anglo-French Hatnub archaeological mission.

Our in person lectures are held at the Pendulum Hotel, Sackville Street, Manchester, M3 1BB. Parking in Charles Street Multistory round the corner. Doors open 7:15pm (you can arrive as early as you like and enjoy a meal or drink at the bar). Event begins 7:45pm and runs to 9:15pm. All welcome. MAES members £3 on the door; guests £5.

This Monday (30th May) we have an EXTRA Zoom lecture! All welcome. Doors open 7:30pm (GMT+1); lecture 8-9pm. Free for MAES members. Guests £5 via Eventbrite – book here:

Alejandro Jimenez-Serrano: The elite of Elephantine during the 12th Dynasty: new data from the archaeological excavations in Qubbet el-Hawa

The discovery of 12th Dynasty tombs in Qubbet el-Hawa at the end of the 19th century permitted scholars to understand the Middle Kingdom in the southernmost province of Upper Egypt. This data increased dramatically, when Labib Habachi discovered their ka chapels erected in a household shrine dedicated to Heqaib, a late 6th Dynasty governor who became their mythic ancestor. New excavations carried out by the University of Jaen in Qubbet el-Hawa have shed light on how the local elite was internally organised. Additionally, the discovery of intact tombs has given us much more data about the funerary customs of the highest members of the local community during the late 12th Dynasty.

Prof. Alejandro Jimenez-Serrano is Mission Director of the University of Jaén’s Qubbet el-Hawa Project. He currently teaches Egyptology and the Archaeology of Egypt and the Near East at the university and has led the multidisciplinary project in Qubbet el-Hawa since 2008, overseeing archaeological excavation, translations of texts and on-site conservation of the many mummies and artefacts discovered there.

This Monday (9th May) we welcome back to MAES Robert Morkot to give a lecture at our normal venue – the Pendulum Hotel, Sackville Street, Manchester.

Robert Morkot: ‘Gem-aten: the sun-disc is found’ – the temple and town of Kawa in Sudan

The temples of Kawa were excavated by Oxford University led by F.Ll. Griffith between 1929 and 1931, and there is material in many museums, including Manchester. The temples uncovered were constructed by Tutankhamun and Taharqo, although there may have been a major temple beneath Taharqo’s from the reign of Amenhotep III. The name Gem-Aten clearly dates the temple to the ‘Amarna Period’ but was retained into later Kushite times.

Robert Morkot is an Ancient Historian with particular interests in north-east Africa, and in the reception of the ancient world and historiography. He has been particularly involved with Egypt, Sudan and Libya, but has a broader involvement in the ancient Eastern Mediterranean/Near East.

Everyone welcome. Members £4, guests £6. Doors open 7pm

This Monday! Join the Manchester Ancient Egypt Society for our monthly zoom lecture – welcoming back Myriam Seco Alvarez who will be revealing recent discoveries at the Thutmose III Temple of Millions of Years in Luxor!

The site of the Temple of Millions of Years of Thutmosis III has allowed the recovery of numerous materials from different periods of the history of pharaonic Egypt. n recent years there have been interesting discoveries at the administrative building located at the southern part of the temple and there have been done attractive advances at the sanctuary area. Likewise, further information has been achieved of simple burials from the end of the First Intermediate Period, some of them intact, and looted noble tombs from the Third Intermediate Period and Saite times. One of the latter contained desecrated mummies that had been reburied with shrouds and amulets.

Myriam is Associate Lecturer of the Department of Prehistory and Archaeology at the University of Seville, and is the Director of the Project for the Excavation and Restoration of the Temple of Millions of Years of Tuthmosis III in Luxor. She has participated in important excavation projects, including a Phoenician shipwreck off the coast of Tyre (Lebanon); the Bent Pyramid and the Seneferu Valley Temple, and as director of the underwater archaeological survey on the Red Sea coast. In 2019 she received the City of Seville Medal for her teaching, educational and research work.

Monday 11th April on Zoom – doors open 7:30pm, lecture begins at 8pm (GMT+1).

All welcome. Guests book via Eventbrite here:

This Saturday join the Manchester Ancient Egypt Society for a fantastic study day revealing the latest findings from human remains at the village of Deir el-Medina! A packed programme with lectures from Rosalie David OBE, Roger Forshaw, Keith White, Anne Austin and Amandine Merat. Guests are welcome – tickets are £40 and you can book on Eventbrite here:

Deir el-Medina has for many years provided extensive archaeological and inscriptional evidence about the daily lives of this special community. In recent years, however, a new mission has focused on examining the human remains of these families from the nearby tombs. The mission, carried out under the auspices of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities and the IFAO, was initiated and is led by Professor Anne Austin and now also includes a team from the KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology, University of Manchester.

At this study-day, members of the mission will present some recent discoveries and discuss issues relating to disease, dental conditions, diet (including water provision at the site), and textiles associated with the burials.

www.maesweb.org.uk

Campbell Price: The Legacy of Khaemwaset at Saqqara and Elsewhere

NEW!!! In a change to our previously advertised lecture, Campbell Price joins us in February!

Of any royal child who did not ascend the throne, Khaemwaset, fourth son of Ramesses II, is perhaps the best known and he is frequently mythologised as a proto-Egyptologist. Thanks to the many monuments and inscriptions he commissioned, we can get an idea of his great interest in being remembered both in association with, and independently from, his famous father. This lecture reviews his works and legacy.

Campbell Price undertook his BA, MA, and PhD in Egyptology at the University of Liverpool, where he is now an Honorary Research Fellow. After undertaking fieldwork at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham, Saqqara and the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, in 2011 he became Curator of Egypt and Sudan at Manchester Museum, part of the University of Manchester and one of the UK’s largest Egyptology collections. In 2021 he was elected Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Egypt Exploration Society, the foremost UK charity supporting Egypt’s cultural heritage. Campbell has published widely on ancient Egyptian material culture and maintains special research interests in views of the past during the First Millennium BCE.

All welcome – free to MAES Members; Guests £5 via Eventbrite

We need to make a couple of changes to our Manchester AE Society programme so the previously advertised February and March speakers have been postponed. New speakers for these meetings will be announced shortly. The February 14th lecture will be on Zoom. We will also be deciding on whether or not to hold the March meeting at our usual venue – an announcement will be made at the end of the month.

Michael Tunnicliffe kicks off the MAES New Year on Monday 10th January, with a Zoom lecture covering a period often neglected by Egyptologists!

Michael Tunnicliffe: Late Roman Egypt: From Marcus Aurelius to the Empire Divided

Egypt became part of the Roman Empire from the death of Cleopatra in 30 BC.  Two hundred years later, Egypt was a significantly different country under Roman rule, but more change was to follow with the growth of Christianity and its adoption by the Roman Emperors in the 4th century. This lecture will explore Late Roman Egypt, from the reign of Marcus Aurelius to 395 when the mighty Roman Empire split into two separate parts.

Michael Tunnicliffe is a freelance lecturer for a number of Adult Education providers in the North West of England. He studied Theology at Birmingham and Cambridge and completed the University of Manchester’s Certificate in Egyptology. He has a particular interest in the intersection of Egyptology and biblical religion.

All welcome. Lecture free to MAES members. Guests £5 via Eventbrite Doors open 7:30pm. Lecture begins at 8pm.

Monday 13^th December – Zoom

Not one but two lectures – a tour of two significant Egyptian collections with Rob Coles and Glynis Greaves who are committee members of MAES. Doors open 7:30pm – lectures begin at 8pm (GMT).

All welcome. Free to MAES members. Guests £5 – booking here:

Rob Coles: Munich’s Egyptian Treasures

The ‘Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst’ or ‘State Museum of Egyptian Art’, our main destination. The only museum outside Egypt dedicated exclusively to Egyptian art, a stunning collection of artefacts covering over 5,000 years of Egyptian history is displayed in a modern underground exhibition space, echoes of an Egyptian tomb. This talk aims to give an overview of this amazing collection.

Glynis Greaves: Rochdale’s Egyptian Collection – little known treasures

The museum known as “Touchstones” in Rochdale began life in 1885 as a municipal library, which was later extended to become the town’s Museum and Art Gallery.  The museum owns an eclectic mix of artefacts, among them more than 2,000 objects from Ancient Egypt.  The story of how these were acquired is fascinating and similar to that of many other Egyptian collections in the North West, such as Manchester, Bolton and Macclesfield. The collection at Rochdale, largely based on the excavations of Petrie from 1894 to 1927, is well provenanced, and although lacking large, monumental artefacts, is archaeologically significant and often of high quality.  This talk will look at some of the characters involved in building this little known collection and aim to show some of its most interesting artefacts.

Alexandria – Melting Pot or Simmering Cauldron? Egyptians and Jews under the Ptolemies

Saturday 23^rd October 9:30am – 4:30pm

Following the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, the Ptolemaic Dynasty ruled Egypt for nearly 300 years, presiding over one of the most wealthy, prestigious and powerful countries in the known world. This was an era of unprecedented change for Egyptian culture and society, ruled by Macedon-Greeks from a new capital – Alexandria – which became one of the most important cosmopolitan cities in the Near East. But with Egyptians, Greeks and Jews all living in the same space, tensions were likely to rise and, as the House of Ptolemy imploded from bitter sibling rivalries, corruption, intrigue, murder and civil unrest, the “Alexandrian mob” became a significant force in the power politics of Egypt. Meanwhile Rome – the rising power in the West – watched, waited and then stepped in.

In this study day, Michael Tunnicliffe and Sarah Griffiths will paint a vivid picture of Egypt’s last ancient dynasty, from Ptolemy I to the famous Cleopatra VII, exploring the changing political relationships within Alexandria and the fluctuating fortunes of the Jewish community, tracing the series of catastrophic events leading to Rome’s annexation of Egypt and the end of more than 3000 years of Pharaonic rule.

MAES members £30; please book your place using the booking form here:

Guests welcome – tickets £40 via Eventbrite here: