Essex Egyptology Group

John Romer Book Launch Event

admin — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:00:37 +0000

Egypt Exploration Society Event

Tuesday 1st May, 6.30pm, Swedenborg Hall, 20-21 Bloomsbury Way, London WC1
John Romer Book Launch

The very well-known Egyptologist and author John Romer, presenter of numerous Egyptology documentaries, will give a lecture and sign copies of his brilliant new book. ‘A History of Egypt: From the First Farmers to the Great Pyramid‘ is a uniquely accessible account of the earliest history of ancient Egypt, and is a natural evolution from his well-loved volume ‘The Great Pyramid: Ancient Egypt revisited’. Don’t miss the chance to get your copy before it’s available anywhere else (and, just to make it completely irresistible, we’ll throw in a discount – 25% off the RRP). To book, click the link above, or contact the Egypt Exploration Society (joanna.kyffin@ees.ac.uk, +44 (0)20 7242 2266).

April 2012

admin — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:41:58 +0000

This month we welcome back George Hart who was unable to visit us in February due to the snowy weather. George will be talking about Egypt in the Pyramid Age…

February 2012

admin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:56:11 +0000

This month we welcome back George Hart to talk to us about Egypt in the Pyramid Age. George graduated with degrees in Classics and Egyptology from University College London and spent over 30 years on the staff of the British Museum. He is an author, a trustee of the Egypt Exploration Society and a founder member of the Friends of the Petrie Museum.

February12 Newsletter

December 2011

admin — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:20:42 +0000

This month is our Fund Raising Event – we will be holding a Crime and Punishment workshop, book auction, photo quiz, word search and anagram quiz, blind auction and ‘guess the weight’. Food will be provided and small prizes will be awarded to winners. The event is being held to benefit the South Asasif Conservation Trust.

October / November 2011

admin — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 15:31:36 +0000

This month we welcome artist and illustrator Gemma Aboe who is a conservation assistant at the Petrie Museum in London.

Next month we welcome Andrew Fulton, BA(Hons), MA, Cert Egyptology. Since retirement he devotes his time to expanding his private research in Egyptology and he will talk to us about Libya in Egypt.

Giza Necropolis

admin — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 08:48:26 +0000

Content coming soon.

The Valley of the Kings

admin — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 08:46:16 +0000

Content coming soon.

Tutankhamun

admin — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 08:16:09 +0000

Content coming soon.

Siwa Oasis

admin — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 09:55:19 +0000

Standing in the sanctuary of the Temple of Amun at Siwa is standing in the footsteps of Alexander the Great. For it was to the Temple, built during the 26^th dynasty, that he came in 331BC to have his divinity confirmed by the Oracle. Two hundred years earlier the Persian King Cambyses sent an army of 50,000 to destroy the Oracle, but they vanished into the desert leaving no trace.

Siwa is close to the Libyan border in the Western Desert, the oasis is in a depression and although there are over a thousand springs the water is salty and little use for agriculture; the main crop being date palms, over a quarter million of them, and olives.

The ancient town of Shali was built using mud brick during the 13^th century but, because of the saltiness of the mud, in 1926 torrential rain melted the salt and the town partly disintegrated. To keep the town within the walls the houses built grew upward, some reaching eight stories high. Tourists are taken on a guided walk through the town, and over the mud rooftops (some with holes and rather scary cracks in them).

The Mountain of the Dead (Gebel al-Mawta) contains tombs cut out of the rock. The tombs range in date from 26^th dynasty to Greco-Roman. The most famous of these tombs is that of Si-Amun who lived about 300BC. The ceiling of this tomb has a wonderful painting of the goddess Nut against a starry night drop.

A most beautiful spot is Cleopatra’s Bath; the circular spring is surrounded by date palms. There is, however, no evidence at all that any of the Cleopatra’s visited the spring.

August / September 2011

admin — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 10:40:00 +0000

This month we welcome Rebecca Bradshaw, MA (Egyptology). Rebecca has worked on digs in the UK and at both the British Museum and the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge. She will shortly begin a PhD programme at University College, Oxford.