Local announcements (London UK)

Apologies to those of you who aren't based in London, but here are a couple of announcements that may well be of interest to those of you who are, one concerning the Friends of the Petrie Museum's upcoming conference and the other about Birkbeck College's Summer School prospectus.

Tutankhamun, the Making of A Legend (UCL website)

To celebrate their 20th anniversary, the Friends of the UCL Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology are hosting a special event at the UCL Bloomsbury Theatre on 31 May 2008 from 10am to 5pm.

‘Tutankhamun, the Making of a Legend’ will feature guest speaker Professor David Silverman, curator of 'Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs' exhibition currently showing at the O2, London and Dr Kate Spence who has worked extensively at Amarna, the city of the pharaoh Akhenaten. . . .

Friends of the UCL Petrie Museum Secretary, Jan Picton, said: “There is no-one better qualified to lecture on this topic. This will be a rare opportunity to discover more about ancient Egypt and the intriguing boy-king Tutankhamun, his tomb and treasures, and to hear this passionate and highly distinguished Egyptologist lecture in the UK.”

Lectures are as follows: Amarna: Life in the Royal Cities of Akhenaten and Tutankhamun by Dr Kate Spence. Akhenaten, Tutankhamun and the religion of the aten by Professor David Silverman. Tutankhamun’s tomb(s?) by Professor David Silverman. Tutankhamun: the making of a legend by Professor David Silverman.

Booking details are available on the Bloomsbury Theatre website.


Birkbeck College Egyptology Summer School 2008
Ancient Egypt: Life, Death and Culture

Monday 23rd June to Friday 27th June 2008 10.00am – 5.00pm Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1.

This five day summer school will present a series of lectures and presentations on the life courses of the ancient Egyptians, and include a special day on new research. The lectures themes will range from aspects of the ancient Egyptian life course (pregnancy and birth, education, puberty rituals and marriage, growing old, death and burial rituals) to the origins and developments of Egyptian scripts and language. Daily life will be presented from the perspectives of school-age children, soldiers, farmers’, as well as priests and priestesses. Learn about the ups and downs of relationships and family life, including courtship, love, eroticism, marriage, adultery, domestic violence and divorce. Other topics will deal with clothing and bodily adornment, medicine and magic, feasts and festivals, social care, religious beliefs, ways of dying and the nature of the Egyptian afterlife. This summer school will also include the unique opportunity to enjoy a full day dedicated to presentations by junior UK scholars on the latest research. Tea and coffee will be provided.

Tutors: Carol Andrews, Frances Welsh, Suzanne Lax-Bojtos, Lorna Oakes, Joseph Clayton, Kathryn Piquette, Carol Downer, Rosalind Janssen

Places are limited so early enrolment is advised. To enrol by telephone +44 (0)20 7631 6651, or write to Executive Officer for Archaeology, Faculty of Continuing Education, Birkbeck College, 26 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DQ quoting course code: FFEY053N0 ACS. Cost: £185 for the week. Programme:

Monday 23rd June: Introduction by Chair; Language and Culture; Pregnancy & Birth; Origins of Scripts; Education (Skills and Knowledge Transmission); Puberty

Tuesday 24th June: Love and Eroticism; Marriage, Adultery, Domestic Violence; Bodily Adornment; Middle/Late Egyptian; Soldiers and Farmers; easting and Entertaining
Event: Evening Event for Students

Wednesday 25th June: Medicine & Magic; Priests and priestesses; Demotic Language
Houses; Fixtures and Fittings; Old Age

Thursday 26th June: Ways of Dying; The Coptic Language; Death and Burial; The Afterlife and Ancestors
Event: Meet the Tutors session

Friday 27th June: Full day of presentations from scholars on their recent findings from doctoral and post-doctoral research. Ancient Egypt Quarries; Early Burial Practices; The Subjugation of the Rekhyt People Throughout the Pharaonic Period; Ptolemaic Egypt; Who Was Who in Twenty Fifth Dynasty Thebes; Late Predynastic and Early Dynastic Art: Continuity and Change