Fascinated by ancient civilisations?
We offer anyone with any level of knowledge, inspiring short courses on ancient Egypt and other areas of the ancient world.
Fascinated by ancient civilisations?
We offer anyone with any level of knowledge, inspiring short courses on ancient Egypt and other areas of the ancient world.
NEW DATE! Saturday 21 June 2025 (in person and online)
RETHINKING THE NARMER PALETTE THROUGH ADVANCED DIGITAL IMAGING AND EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY with Dr Kathryn E. Piquette (University College London) and Mr Michael Oakey (Independent)
Saturday 27 September (in person)
ILLICIT TRADE IN CULTURAL ARTEFACTS: THE CASES OF EGYPT AND SUDAN
with Dr Marcel Marée (British Museum)
Speakers: Dr Kathryn E. Piquette (University College London) and Mr Michael Oakey (Independent)
This study day will be held in person only from 10:00 - 17:30 in the UCL Institute of Archaeology, 31 - 34 Gordon Square WC1H 0PY.
Join us for a special study day dedicated to one of ancient Egypt’s most prominent examples of early pharaonic art and writing — the Narmer Palette — viewed from the fresh perspectives of recent advanced digital imaging and experimental archaeology. This greywacke slab is carved with complex and often violent scenes conventionally interpreted in the contexts of royal ideology and the emergence of a unified Egypt. The day focuses on artefactual and technological facets of this and related carved palettes, including material traces of the processes of creation and use. Four sumptuously illustrated lectures feature high-resolution computer-enhanced images that reveal in compelling detail individual toolmarks, possible evidence for scene adjustment, damage and repair, and some marks that raise the possibility that the palette was incomplete. New research using experimental archaeology to reproduce toolmarks will be presented for discussion. In-person participants will also be able to handle a full-scale replica Narmer Palette, and examine modern samples of carved stone and replica tools.
1. The Narmer Palette: Previous and recent research with advanced imaging (KP)
2. Comparative Analysis: Battlefield, Two Dog, Cities, and other palettes (KP)
3. Reverse Engineering the Carving Process (MO)
4. Experimental Archaeology and New Insights (KP and MO)
In addition to hearing four fascinating lectures, you will have plenty of opportunity to ask questions, and to socialise with the speakers over morning and afternoon refreshments.
Speaker: Dr Marcel Marée (British Museum)
This study day will be held in person only from 10:00 - 17:30 in Lecture Room 209, UCL Institute of Archaeology, 31 - 34 Gordon Square WC1H 0PY.
We are privileged to have Dr Marcel Marée lead this important study day on a topic of great concern to us all. Over recent decades, archaeological sites in the Middle East and North Africa have seen a sharp increase in illegal digging. Artefacts excavated and exported without authorisation are flooding the international art market on an unprecedented scale. This is not just a product of the Arab Spring and its aftermath. Looters and traffickers of the 21st century exploit the new technologies of the internet, encrypted messaging, and social media, through which they trade largely unhindered with clients around the world. Subject specialists are slow to recognise that they have a critical role to play in counteracting this scourge. Therefore, in 2018, the speaker launched Circulating Artefacts (CircArt), a project for cultural experts to scrutinise the art market through in-depth provenance research. Initially focused on artefacts from Egypt and Sudan, CircArt has helped identify and recover thousands of smuggled antiquities.
1. Cultural Property and the Threats to Its Survival
2. Legal Framework and Workings of the Trade in Cultural Property
3. The Circulating Artefacts (CircArt) Project
4. How to Detect Illegally Sourced Artefacts
In addition to hearing four fascinating lectures, you will have plenty of opportunity to ask questions, and to socialise with the speaker over morning and afternoon refreshments.