We’ve just announced our new Manchester Ancient Egypt Society lecture programme for September 2018 to June 2019! We explore Gebel Barkal, investigate the latest research on the Belfast mummy Takabuti, explore the secrets in the sand at Saqqara, and discover why Seti I was the father of Egyptian Greatness. PLUS our March study day is all about houses and homes AND we have a special extra study day in November with special guests Raymond Johnson and Jay Heidel from Chicago House.

For more details visit here:

Or download a copy of our programme here:

Come and join us on Monday 14th May to hear about the life of the “well-to-do” New Kingdom couple Kha and Meryt and how the exciting discovery of their intact tomb at Deir el-Medina led to wonderful insights into the lives of non-royals in New Kingdom Thebes.

Michael is secretary and co-founder of Thebes – the Blackburn Egyptology Society. He has lectured across the North West to Egyptology societies and other historical and charity groups.  His main focus is on visiting primary schools, teaching children about the wonderful ancient Egyptian civilisation, and also accompanies classes on trips to the Manchester Museum.

This Monday, Hilary Forrest takes us back to the nineteenth century, a period of exploration, analysis and plundering of the treasures of ancient Egypt. Some of this activity could be interpreted as legitimate while much was unofficial or even illegal. The Museums of the world and private collections were often beneficiaries.

This lecture will look at a number of individuals involved in this process looking at their lives, careers and their motivation, to examine this process.

Examples will begin with the Napoleonic study and will include colourful characters such as Belzoni, Henry Salt , William Bankes, well- known names like Maspero and Petrie as well as some lesser names like Greville Chester and Gayer Anderson.

Monday 16th April 7:30pm Manchester Conference Centre, Sackville Street, M1 3BB

Saturday 7th April 11am – 2pm Joint EES / MAES Special Event!

Deir el-Medina tattooed mummy

An exciting double lecture from EES Director Cédric Gobeil about his excavations at Deir el-Medina and his research on the mummy of the Deir el-Medina tattooed lady.

In association with the Manchester Museum – the lectures take place in the museum’s Kanaris Lecture Theatre.

Tickets £20 each.  Booking details here:

Excavations at Sais. Photo Penny Wilson

Last chance to book for our annual Manchester Ancient Egypt Society study day!

“Delta Digs” with Penny Wilson, Joanne Rowland and Rosalie David.

Statue of Wadjet at Buto. Photo: Penny Wilson

Join us   for a fascinating day of exploration of the Delta and its history, including the rise of Sais to Royal Capital, Predynastic settlements at Merimde Beni Salama, the Tanis treasures and Graeco-Roman “Boom & Bust”.

9:30am – 4:30pm at the Longfield Suite, Prestwich. Details and bookings here:

Akhenaten – photo RBP

We have an exciting programme lined up at MAES beginning in September! Speakers include Robert Morkot (on Gebel Barkal), Nicky Nielsen (Seti I), Mark Collier (Egyptian language), Keith White (Akhetaten) and Rosalie David (the Belfast mummy)!

PLUS two study days – including a special joint study day with the KNH Centre in November with Ray Johnson of Chicago House! Keep watching for further details!

The Manchester AE Soc lecture WILL go ahead this Monday (5th March).  7:30pm Manchester Conference Centre, Sackville Street, Manchester, M1 3BB. We look forward to seeing you!

Manon Schutz – ‘To die, to sleep’ — The Meaning of Beds in Ancient Egypt

Bed of Hetepheres

The bed is a piece of furniture which everyone in modern day England uses or at least knows. However, as it seems so familiar to us, we tend to project our own understanding of beds and the ideas related to them—especially that of the nightly sleep—to beds in other cultures. In the case of Egyptian beds, however, one might wonder whether it is legitimate to compare objects that are not only geographically, but also chronologically apart, even though their form is similar to our modern counterparts. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that all the beds known to us stem from tombs, not the domestic area. Thus, the aim of this talk is to analyse the function of beds in the funerary context of ancient Egypt and their role as connecting link between sleep and death.

Manon is a doctoral candidate and Clarendon scholar at Mansfield College, University of Oxford. In her thesis ‘Sleep, Beds, and Death in Ancient Egypt’, she is analysing the function of the bed in the funerary context of ancient Egypt from Predynastic times to the Graeco-Roman Period, especially in its role as protector and guarantor of rebirth. Inher Magister Artium thesis, which she completed at the University of Trier (Germany), as well as her Master of Studies thesis for the University of Oxford, she analysed coffins from the Roman Period. She was also involved in the publication of the Egyptian collection housed in the Musée National d’Histoire et d’Art in Luxembourg.

NOW BEING HELD ON SATURDAY 24th MARCH

(Postponed from 3rd March due to bad weather and rail strikes)

Ramesses II at the British Museum

Ramesses the Great – Pharaoh of the Exodus?

with Michael Tunnicliffe & Sarah Griffiths

This Monday Campbell Price presents our annual Bob Partridge Egyptology Lecture, in memory of our late Chairman.

Cat in the Marshes, Tomb of Nebamun

Join us to explore Artisans as Ritualists in Ancient Egypt

Artisans, particularly those engaged in producing sculpture, held an especially important place in Ancient Egyptian society. This lecture explores the ‘magic’ of artistic production and traces the evidence of some artisans, who often left their mark on works they created or used their access to skills and resources to make very special objects for themselves.

Monday 12th February from 7:30pm Manchester Conference Centre / Pendulum Hotel, Sackville Street, Manchester, M1 3BB

We are now taking bookings for the upcoming joint half-study day on Saturday 7th April. MAES and the Egypt Exploration Society present two lectures by EES Director Cédric Gobeil about his excavations at Deir el-Medina and his research on the mummy of the Deir el-Medina tattooed lady.

This is in association with the Manchester Museum – the lectures take place in the museum’s Kanaris Lecture Theatre. Tickets £20 each.

Deir el-Medina Fieldwork

To book click here!