Ancient Egypt in the Afternoon

Public Lecture | Updated 1 decade ago

A group of people working in the Egyptian desert
Egypt
Image courtesy of Heather Tunmore

Two illustrated lectures by Dr Yann Tristant, Department of Ancient History, Macquarie University, Sydney

Program

1.30 - 2.30 Adaima: A Predynastic children’s cemetery in Upper Egypt
2.30 – 3.00 Tea break (30 minutes) -provided
3.00 -4.00 The elite 1st dynasty cemetery of Abu Rawash

Adaima

Discovered in 1908 by Henri de Morgan, the Predynastic site of Adaima was the focus of 17 archaeological seasons by the French Institute of Archaeology (IFAO) from 1989 to 2005. Occupied from c. 3900 BC to c. 2700 BC, the end of Naqada I to the 3rd Dynasty, the locality combines a large settlement area and two cemeteries. The lecture will focus on the Eastern Cemetery where nearly 1000 intact children’s burials have brought new light to the population, the economy, the environment, social evolution, health, and the ritual activity of a Predynastic community at the time of the development of the Egyptian State.

Abu Rawash

Abu Rawash, on the Nile’s west bank 8 km north east of Giza, includes a 1st Dynasty elite cemetery first identified just before the outbreak of World War 1 by Pierre Montet. After almost a century of abandonment, since 2008 this cemetery has been the focus of an IFAO-Macquarie University collaborative project. The team has discovered new tomb parts, architectural features and secondary burials. In 2012 and 2013 the team discovered funerary wooden boats dating to the reign of King Den (c. 2950 BC). They are the oldest boats ever found in Egypt. Transported for conservation to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) at Giza, the boats will soon be exhibited. Analysis of the boats is a boon for understanding the development of early Egyptian shipbuilding techniques.

Venue: The Tunnel
Entry fee: payable at the door, doors open from 1:00pm
Entry $10 (the entry fee contributes to tea and coffee and to costs associated with the visiting speaker's fares)