2020-2024 STUDY DAYS AVAILABLE ON VIDEO

FACING THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS: FACTS AND FANTASIES

Speaker: Dr Campbell Price (University of Manchester)

This study day was held in person at UCL and livestreamed via Zoom, and is now available on video.

We are thrilled to bring back Dr Campbell Price to lead our autumn study guaranteed! When we look at Egyptian paintings, reliefs, sculpture, and so on, we instinctively think we recognise the ancient Egyptians. We know their faces and read their images as if looking at old family photos. But the apparent naturalism of some of those images should not dupe us into thinking that they were conceived as Western-style mimetic ‘portraits’. This study day critically examined the functions of faces in artworks – from kings of the Old Kingdom to Roman officials in Egypt – before considering how modern facial reconstructions based on human remains have shaped our impressions. Campbell took us on a fascinating exploration of what the ancients might have wanted to portray, how, and why those images were created, and – crucially – what the surviving traces tell us about ourselves.

The four lectures included:

1. The Ancient Egyptian Image World

2. Changing Facial Forms in Pharaonic Sculpture

3. The Ancient Egyptian Face in Popular Culture

4. Facing the Dead: Recreations and wishful thinking

RECENT DISCOVERIES IN THE ROYAL CACHE WADI ON LUXOR'S WEST BANK

Speaker: Dr José-Ramón Pérez-Accino (Complutense University of Madrid)

This is a study day that was held in person at UCL and livestreamed via Zoom, and is now available on video.

We were pleased to invite Dr José Ramón Pérez-Accino to lead our summer study day on the Royal Cache Wadi. It is here, on the West Bank at Luxor, that a key chapter in the life history of the Valley of the Kings came to a close 500 years after it began as a royal necropolis. At the end of the New Kingdom, the mummified bodies of Egyptian rulers and some members of the royal court were deposited in a tomb in a wadi or bay in the cliffs near the temple at Deir el-Bahari. The find of this “Royal Cache” in 1881 was the first spectacular discovery of Egyptian archeology to be covered by the mass media. It has since been assumed that this so-called wadi is otherwise largely devoid of archaeological remains. However, since 2017, the C2 Project: Royal Cache Wadi survey has revealed new evidence for religious activity prior to the re-burial of the kings, queens, and other royal family members. These exciting findings change significantly our understanding of the area and especially the history of the Valley of the Kings.

The four lectures included:

1. Not the Last Journey: The re-burial of the kings at the end of the New Kingdom

2. The Night of Tasting Fear: A discovery in the mountains

3. The Forgotten Valley: The C2 Project

4. Work in Progress: Lines of research and future plans

EMBODIED FORMS: NON-ROYAL STATUARY IN THE LATE PERIOD

Speaker: Dr Campbell Price (University of Manchester)

This is a study day that was held online on Zoom and is now available on video.

Temple statuary was the chief medium for elite self-presentation in the Late Period (c.750–30 BCE). Dedication of such monuments at the vast complex of Karnak was a privilege of the priestly elite. This study day explored the forms and inscriptions of some of these statues. These give an important insight into conceptions of divinity, materiality, and expectations of how the statues were conceived to function for eternity in temples frequented by gods, the living, and the dead.

(RE)DISCOVERING LIFE IN THE NILE VALLEY: NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR STUDYING ANCIENT REMAINS – HOW WELL DO THEY WORK?

Speakers: Dr Lidija McKnight (University of Manchester) and Dr Iwona Kozieradzka-Ogunmakin (University of Manchester)

This is a study day that was held online on Zoom and is now available on video.

To what extent do scientific techniques help us understand the archaeology of the Nile Valley? Recent years have seen a surge in scientific analyses of archaeological remains — but with varying degrees of success and sparking considerable debate. This study day will focus on the current state of research on the Nile Valley pertaining to human and animal remains, and what they reveal about the cultures of ancient Egypt and Nubia.

The day’s lectures presented a variety of fascinating case studies where archaeology and science have been used together to investigate life and death along the Nile. Throughout the day, we were actively encouraged to think critically and consider difficult questions. For example, is excavating more graves really necessary and can it be justified? Is it ethical to unwrap a mummy or scan human remains? Is it wrong to undertake destructive analysis of human and animal remains? Lidija and Iwona engaged us in discussing these controversial issues in the light of new scientific techniques and their future direction in the study of ancient Egypt and Nubia.

FESTIVALS AND CELEBRATION IN ANCIENT EGYPT

Speakers: Dr Campbell Price (University of Manchester), Dr José Ramón Pérez-Accino (Complutense University of Madrid), Dr Claire Malleson (American University of Beirut) and Mr John J. Johnston (Independent)

This is a study day that was held online on Zoom and is now available on video.

We invited four outstanding Egyptologists to join us for BSS Online in July to share their fascinating areas of expertise, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of BSS. Campbell is Curator of Egypt and Sudan at the University of Manchester’s Manchester Museum, José is Assistant Professor of Egyptology and Ancient History at the Universidad Complutense of Madrid, and Claire is Assistant Professor of Archaeology at the American University of Beirut. John is a freelance Egyptologist, Classicist, and cultural historian; he was Vice-Chair of the EES during 2010–2015.

“Millions of Jubilees”: Celebrating and interpreting the “Heb-Sed”

One of the most well-known rituals of ancient Egyptian kingship, the “heb-sed” was a key affirmation and rejuvenation of a Pharaoh's power. Yet few kings ever actually celebrated such an event on their 30-year jubilee, as Egyptologists believe they were supposed to have done. This lecture examines some of the evidence for the ritual – or simply its depiction - and attempts to assess its significance for the ancient Egyptian king, the populace at large, and Egyptological interpreters today.

The Art of Celebration in Ancient Egypt: Dress, adornment, music, and poetry

This lecture explores how the ancient Egyptians marked festive and other happy occasions through the clothing they wore and how they adorned their bodies. The use of music and dance to celebrate special occasions will also be examined together with texts, including poetry, that also shed light on Egyptian traditions of celebration.

“If there is beer you never ask for me!” Festive Food and Drink in Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptians probably enjoyed parties as much as we do, but, what did they eat and drink during celebrations and festivals? Certainly not jelly and ice-cream! This lecture presents evidence for the kinds of food and drink they might have consumed, as well as exploring Egyptian attitudes towards gluttony and drunkenness.

“Oh, it’s such a perfect day”: Celebrations from ancient Egypt onwards

The calendar of the ancient Egyptians was replete with religious and commemorative festivals, feast days, and celebrations. It therefore seems appropriate to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the founding of Bloomsbury Summer School with a lecture considering, with a plethora of illustrative material, certain of these festivals and their subsequent transmission and reception within modern contexts and popular culture.