Event: Ancient Egyptian woodworking 09/02/13

Working with wood in Ancient Egypt: a practical demonstration

In conjunction with our ‘Collecting Trees’ project and as part of our ‘Discover Archaeology’ Big Saturday on February the 9^th, the Museum is delighted to host Dr. Geoffrey Killen, an expert on ancient Egyptian woodworking, who will demonstrate ancient craft techniques – LIVE! Watch Geoff use replica ancient Egyptian tools to make furniture, the Egyptian way. There will also be a chance to see Egyptian wooden items normally kept in storage.

 

 

 

Ancient Egyptian Woodworking

Saturday 9^th February

11:30am and 2:30pm

Manchester Museum

ENTRY FREE

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MAES Lecture 14th May 2012: Egypt’s Developing Delta – Tombs, Treasure and Railways!

Manchester Ancient Egypt Society will host its annual AGM and a lecture by Dr. Penny Wilson of Durham University on Monday the 14th of May 2012, at Days Inn, Weston Building, Sackville Street, Manchester, 7.15pm

The lecture will look at the political and social development of major cities and archaeological sites in the Delta from the Late Period through to the modern day. The capital cities of Tanis and Sais introduced the notion of city-states and temple burials to Egypt, while the move to the western side of Egypt, especially at Alexandria opened Egypt to the trade networks of the Aegean and western Mediterranean. All of these things had important effects on culture and society in ancient Egypt, none more so than our approach to the archaeology of the area and how it was subsequently affected by modern developments in irrigation and railways. By the end of the talk I hope you will have an idea of the challenges of studying the north of Egypt and as taste of its grandeur and beauty – ancient and modern!

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Event: Cairo Chaos – Toot ‘n’ Carboot and Watt the Heka

The Manchester Museum, Sunday 13th of May, 11-12 am.

The Manchester Museum’s ‘Unearthed’ presents Cairo Chaos.

With the esteemed poet extraordinaire, Toot and Carboot  in collaboration with the terrifyingly talented magician, Watt the Heka.

 

More ‘laffs than a safari full of meerkats.

More rhythm than a Nile river cruise.

Hear words and see magic in a story.

That will amaze baffle and amuse.

Open to mummies, daddies and young pharaohs.

No need to book, just turn up.

Be sure not to miss the beginning. Magic starts at 11am

More on the event here.

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Curator’s Diary 11/4/12: Visiting Egypt (3) – the Egyptian Museum

Several hours of my last two days in Cairo were spent at the Egyptian Museum. This is a building I have visited many times and, in 2008, briefly worked at as an intern on the an ARCE/SCA project to create a digital database for the museum’s 100,000 or more objects. Several changes had taken place since my last visit here in 2009. Outside, the side of the building closest to the Nile has been developed into a café and ‘museum store’ – the latter still empty after it took the brunt of looting during the Egyptian revolution last year.

Inside, I was pleased to see a large number of visitors had returned – but also happy to enjoy the galleries without full-capacity Easter holiday crowds. A major change is the ongoing – and much-needed – painting work within the galleries. Along with the addition of some new lighting, the interior of the museum space has been simply but effectively transformed and now feels much lighter and modern. The reorganisation of some areas has been of major benefit in foregrounding some previously-hidden aspects of the collection.

Persian period stela © SGSP

I was delighted to see back on display the striking Persian Period stela discovered in 1990s by the Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project. It now keeps company with many – roughly contemporary – statues from the Karnak Cachette, objects that formed the subject of my Ph.D dissertation. I confess also to taking a new interest in objects from the same sites as those in Manchester, or those that provide parallels. I hope to explore these connections further in the new galleries’ interpretation and in information available on our digital catalogue.

History: ancient and modern

The site of the Museum, in Tahrir Square, is now world-famous as the scene of the Egyptian revolution. Indeed several visitors were more interested in taking photographs of the burnt-out government building next to the Museum than in the (now expanded) number of monuments in the Museum gardens. I was in Luxor at the end of January 2011, during the height of the Tahrir demonstrations. I remember clearly the stunned silence among a gathering of Egyptologists when someone reported that the museum in Cairo was on fire. That report, fortunately, proved to be inaccurate but typified the sometimes hysterical reactions at the time from around the world. It was therefore incredibly heartening to see the Museum reinventing itself. This great collection of Egyptian antiquities has become as much about Egypt’s present and future as about its past.

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Curator’s Diary 8/4/12: Visiting Egypt (2) – Return to Saqqara

On Tuesday I returned, for the first time in over two years, to a site I know very well. Saqqara is most famous as the home of the Step Pyramid of King Djoser (c. 2667-2648 BC), Egypt’s (and arguably the world’s) first major monumental construction entirely built in stone. Over the last few years conservation work has been undertaken to shore up the pyramid’s crumbling walls. Though necessary, the scaffolding remains something of an eyesore and detracts slightly from this impressive monument.

Since 2006, I have been a member of a pioneering research project that uses a range of geophysical techniques to map the necropolis surrounding the Step Pyramid – revealing many structures that previously lay undetected beneath the sand. The Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project (SGSP) is Scotland’s only archaeological mission in Egypt, and was the brainchild of Ian Mathieson. Ian was a real pioneer of the appliance of science to Egyptian archaeology, a charismatic Scotsman who became a close friend and mentor. Since he passed away at the age of 83 in 2010, his energy and interdisciplinary approach to fieldwork have been much missed. Those of us who worked with him are keen to continue his exciting work.

Geophysical plan of the 'north temples' - previously undetected by archaeologists. © SGSP

Some of the last objects to enter the Manchester Museum collection from Egypt (in the 1970s, when the Egyptian authorities still permitted a proportion of finds to be exported abroad by their excavators) come from Saqqara. During the First Millennium BC, Saqqara was at the heart of a peculiarly Egyptian religious practice: the cult of sacred animals. Although the ‘Sacred Animal Necropolis’ focussed on the worship of one sacred bull, a large number of species were bred, killed, mummified and buried here as votive gifts to the gods. The remains of several million mummified birds, cats, dogs, and baboons have been discovered in underground catacombs at Saqqara. The new Egyptian World gallery will feature more information about the work of the SGSP in establishing where this vast industry of sacred animals operated, what the religious rationale behind the cult was, and new scientific research on the animal mummies themselves.

Figure of Anubis from the tomb of Maya

The last season I spent with Ian and the SGSP in 2009, we surveyed an area around the tomb of Horemheb – a high-ranking army general under Tutankhamun (c. 1336-1327 BC), who himself became king and was subsequently buried in the Valley of the Kings. Our work revealed the outline of several unknown tombs in this area. Some others nearby have been excavated and restored by an Anglo-Dutch mission, and have recently been opened to the public. A highlight of my visit was to see the superbly-decorated burial chamber of a man called Maya, treasurer under Tutankhamun and contemporary of Horemheb.

One of Murray's Saqqara publications

Saqqara has another connection with Manchester. Before she came to Manchester to pioneer the scientific investigation of mummies with the unwrapping of the Two Brothers, Margaret Murray spent several seasons working at Saqqara as a student of W.M.F. Petrie. The result was a number of handsome volumes publishing mastaba tombs there. In Murray’s day, such results were only possible through digging – and the ultimately destructive effects of archaeology. Now, with geophysical techniques, it is possible to plan many of the tombs Murray identified without lifting a trowel. Archaeological fieldwork is of prime importance to understanding and properly contextualising museum objects. I hope to develop further both the legacy of Ian Mathieson and Margaret Murray, to better understand Saqqara – a site from which we have a very rich collection of objects.

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Curator’s Diary 6/4/12: Visiting Egypt (1) – the Faiyum

Yesterday I returned from a 4-day trip to Cairo. One objective of this visit was to capture digital content for the new Ancient Worlds galleries, in the form of photographs and short film clips.

Manchester holds a world-class collection of objects excavated from the ancient towns of Kahun (modern Lahun) and Gurob. Both sites are situated close to the Faiyum lake, some 130 kilometres south-west of modern Cairo. Driving with my friend and colleague Mohammed Komaty on the second day of my trip, it took just over 2 hours on the Western Desert Highway to reach the area. I had never visited the Faiyum region before, so took the opportunity to stop at another important site nearby.

Pyramid at Meidum

Meidum is the site of a large, steep-sided pyramid – a tower-like structure visible from the road. It was perhaps begun by Huni, last king of the Third Dynasty (c. 2637-2613), and was completed – if not entirely constructed – by his son Sneferu (c. 2613-2589 BC). Nearby are several large mastaba tombs (so-called because they resemble the flat, rectangular structures – hence their Arabic name, meaning ‘bench’) belonging to high-ranking officials. One of the mastabas belonged to a son of Sneferu, named Nefermaat, and his wife Itet. In addition to almost 200 other small objects from Meidum, Manchester Museum holds two decorated blocks from Nefermaat and Itet’s mastaba – both of which will feature in the new galleries.

The next stop was Gurob, the site of a royal harem palace during the New Kingdom (c. 1550-1143 BC). I was very pleased my visit coincided with fieldwork by the Gurob Harem Palace Project, an international collaboration led by Liverpool University’s Dr. Ian Shaw, who showed me around the site. The Project has improved substantially our understanding of the extent and use of this intriguing settlement, the story of which will feature in the ‘Royal Cities’ section of the Egyptian World gallery.

GHPP Director Ian Shaw and Tine Bagh

Of particular interest is the work of Anna Hodgkinson, a friend and colleague from Liverpool, who has been excavating kilns at the site. These contain the remains of glass and faience production, but may have had other uses. It may have been here that some of the most beautiful Gurob objects now in Manchester were created. Anna kindly agreed to speak about her research on camera, which will be included in a video exploring the making of faience and glass objects.

Finally, I made a trip to the site from which arguably the greatest number of Manchester’s Egyptian objects come: the workers’ town of Lahun. Here were housed the builders of the nearby pyramid of Senwosret II (c. 1880-1874 BC) and their descendants. The site was dug extensively by William Matthew Flinders Petrie at the end of the Nineteenth Century. Despite the fact that Petrie discovered many objects that cast unprecedented light on life – and not just death – at the town, there is very little to see today. It was, however, a special privilege to be at the place that has such a close connection with objects I am getting to know so well. Although weathered, the site is still dominated by the mud-brick pyramid of Senwosret II – a feeling enhanced by the total lack of other visitors. The pyramid’s haunting majesty was intended to ensure that the king’s cult continued at the town after his death. This is attested at Lahun by the large number of papyri found there, dealing with a range of matters – including the royal cult – from long after the pyramid had received its intended occupant.

The pyramid of Senwosret II at Lahun

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Event: Mummies in Medicine and the Imagination

Mummies in medicine and the imagination

2:00PM – 3:00PM 17 March 2012, The Manchester Museum

Discover how changing medical practices shaped new ways of thinking about archaeology, mummies and ancient Egypt. From the medical study of human remains came ideas about history and civilisation, while in the public imagination, scientific investigations into mummies inspired dread, horror and fear – such as the ‘curse of the mummy’. Join local historians Neil Pemberton and Jo Baines for this talk to discover the truth behind the legends of Egyptian mummies. Part of National Science and Engineering Week.

Price: Book on 0161 275 2648, free, adults

More information at the Museum Meets site.

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Event: Gripping yarns – keeping your toes warm in ancient Egypt

Big Saturday Event

Socks old and new: our example from Roman Egypt (Acc. no. 983) (top) and, below, another knitted by our Curator of Public Programmes, Anna Bunney, based on the same pattern

Saturday 25th February, 2.00-4.00pm 

The Manchester Museum, Discovery Centre

Is this the oldest sock you’ll ever see? Be inspired by the Museum’s 1,700 year old sock from the site of Oxyrhynchus in Roman Egypt and other knitting-related items from the Egypt collection.

Part of the Close Knit series of knitting workshops, in partnership with Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester Art Gallery and Gallery of Costume.

For adults. Free, drop–in.

 

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Texts in translation #2: an ‘ear-stela’ of Amenmose (Acc. no. 4906)

Ear stela 4906

On Saturday, I met up with the Young Archaeologists Club (YAC) to do a spot of hieroglyph translation. For the session, I chose this short text on an object currently displayed in the Museum’s Discovery Centre.  The members of YAC, mostly aged around 10, were incredibly knowledgable and – with only a little help – cracked the code presented by this small stela. Rather than simply ‘make up’ hieroglyphic words using a phonetic alphabet, the chance to read a real text from ancient Egypt – and work out what the object was used for – was one the group really enjoyed.

This small limestone stela is one of a class of objects called ‘ear stelae’, common in the New Kingdom (c. 1550-1069 BC), and records the name of a deity to whom it is dedicated as well as the man who made or comissioned it. It shows a pair of ears, between which reads: “Ptah-hearer-of-prayers (ptH sDm-nH<w>)”. Beneath is the donor’s name: “Made by Amenmose (ir n imn-ms)”.

The stela was found in Memphis, whose patron god was Ptah. Ptah is the deity most often invoked in these objects, regardless of provenance, so was perhaps considered particularly attentive to prayers. The ears enabled the deity to hear people’s petitions or prayers. Some stelae have dozens of ears carved on them – presumably to aid their effectiveness. Given the size of this small stela (10.2cm high), I think a good analogy for its function is that of a mobile phone – with a direct line to the gods.

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Liverpool Ancient Worlds Summer School – Book now!

LIVERPOOL ANCIENT WORLDS SUMMER SCHOOL

30th July – 10th August 2012, University of Liverpool.

Study Latin and Greek Language, Egyptian Hieroglyphs (Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced), Sanskrit and Akkadian

Egyptology Summer School (30th July- 3rd August): ‘FROM AMARNA TO DEIR EL-MEDINA: NEW KINGDOM RESEARCH AT LIVERPOOL’

This week will comprise individual presentations by lecturing staff and associates on their current research. As well as making their cutting edge discoveries accessible to you, you will attain a detailed knowledge of this period of Egyptian history. Topics to be covered include excavations at a fortress of Ramesses II, new scientific research into Tutankhamun’s life and death, insights into the ancient tomb robbery trials, geophysical surveys at Saqqara, Nubian culture, and lots more. As much of this work is ongoing, you’ll have a privileged look at this unpublished research.

Speakers include: Professor Chris Eyre, Professor Mark Collier, Dr. Violaine Chauvet, Dr. Roland Enmarch, Dr. Glenn Godenho, Dr. Ian Shaw, Dr. Steven Snape, Dr. Joyce Tyldesley, Dr. Bob Connolly, Dr. Ashley Cooke and Dr. Campbell Price.

For more information on the summer school, visit the Liverpool Ancient Worlds website.

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