The Calgary Chapter of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities

Mapping Tombs and Memory: Mortuary Practice and Commemoration in the Valley of the Kings and the Theban Necropolis An Illustrated Lecture by Dr. Erik Johannesson

Posted in 2019 - 2020, Event, Featured, Guest Speaker, Lecture

Date: Friday, November 1, 2019

Time: 7:30 – 9:00 pm

Location: EDC-287

Cost: Members: free; Guests: $5; Students with ID: $2

Description:

The impressive mortuary temples, or “Halls of A Million Years”, of 18th and 19th Dynasty pharaohs and
their accompanying tombs in the Valley of the Kings were built to endure and commemorate the ruling elite in perpetuity.
However, within generations many of these edifices had been forgotten, repurposed, or reinterpreted; a process that
continues to the present day. This talk will engage the archaeology of memory and draw on the mapping of recently
rediscovered tombs in the Valley of the Kings to discuss mortuary practices during the New Kingdom, 20th century
archaeology, and how the use and interpretation of the funerary landscape of the Theban Necropolis has changed
through time.

Speaker:

Dr. Erik Johannesson is an archaeologist and mortuary specialist who has conducted research on tombs
and funerary remains across the world from Mongolia to the Canadian Arctic, and most recently in the Valley of the Kings.
He holds a Ph.D. in archaeology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and an M.A. in Classics from the
University of Arizona, and has taught archaeology at several North American universities, including the University of
Calgary where he’s currently a sessional instructor in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology.

Lecture: Christian Oxyrhynchus: The Earliest Extant Evidences for Christianity in Egypt

Posted in 2019 - 2020, Event, Guest Speaker, Lecture

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A THURSDAY LECTURE

Date: Thursday, October 17, 2019

Time: 7:30 – 9:00 pm

Location: EDC-287

Cost: Members: free; Guests: $5; Students with ID: $2

Description:
In this presentation Dr. Lincoln H. Blumell will introduce and discuss the diverse range of evidences discovered at Oxyrhynchus, a Roman city located in Middle Egypt, for Christianity.
Thought relatively unknown, Oxyrhynchus has yielded many of the earliest textual remains for Christianity that begin in the second century CE and continue through the seventh century CE. In addition to introducing this material he will also show its significance for understanding Christianity in the first few centuries of the Common Era.

About the Speaker:
Lincoln H. Blumell is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University. He holds graduate degrees from the University of Calgary, University of Oxford, and University of Toronto. He specializes in Early Christianity and Greek and Coptic papyrology and epigraphy. He has published three books, Lettered Christians: Christians, Letters, and Late Antique Oxyrhynchus (Brill, 2012), Christian Oxyrhyhnchus: Texts, Documents, and Sources (Baylor University Press, 2015), with T. A. Wayment, and Didymus the Blind’s Commentary on the Psalms 26:10–29:2 and 36:1–3 (Brepols, 2019), with T. W. Mackay and Gregg Schwendner. He is also the author of numerous articles.

‘Under Wraps – Exploratory and Experimental Imaging Studies of Egyptian Mummies’ by Dr. Andrew Wade

Posted in 2018 - 2019, Event, Guest Speaker, Lecture

Date: Friday, June 7, 2019

Time: 7:30 – 9:00 pm

Location: EDC-287

Cost:Members: free; Guests: $5; Students with ID: $2

Description:

Examining mummies using medical imaging technologies allows us to probe the social aspects of mortuary archaeology – looking deeper into trends in funerary ritual, sociopolitical change, and the evolution of ancient ideologies. Lying at the crossroads of the ancient world, Egypt and its mummies cast light on important influences to the ancient and modern Western world. Rather than solely being fascinating relics to a bygone age, mummified remains can be reconstructed to bring modern people in touch with a familiar ancient human face and a chance to engage with other ways of thinking about dying, death, and what comes after.

 

About the speaker:

We are fortunate to have Dr. Andrew Wade make the journey to Calgary for this presentation.Dr. Wade’s research focuses on cultural change, socio-political interactions, and identity formation in ancient Egypt and confronts many of the stereotypes about Egyptian mummification that stem from classical accounts of the tradition. His research applies cutting edge medical imaging technologies to questions of ancient health and culture, and is tied to the large-scale, international IMPACT Radiological Mummy Database Project. His forensic and bioarchaeological studies are published in leading academic journals, and popular news outlets worldwide have reported on his work, including Science Magazine, Discovery Channel’s Daily Planet, CTV News, and National Geographic News.

Room EDC 287, Education Classroom Block, University of Calgary

‘Death on the Nile’ – not the Agatha Christie film!

Posted in 2018 - 2019, Event, Guest Speaker, Lecture, Uncategorized

Date: Friday, April 26, 2019

Time: 7:30 – 9:00 pm

Location: EDC-287

Cost: Meetings are Free to Members; Guests $5, Students with ID $2

Description:

Fekri Hassan is a geoarchaeologist and professor emeritus at University College London. He set forth his research into the fall of the Old Kingdom in Egypt in a BBC/TLC film titled Death On the Nile, one of four completed films for the series Ancient Apocalypse. Parts of the film were shot at the Mendes dig in 2000. The BBC producer was Cynthia Page, and principal cameraman was Nigel Meakin, who is better known for photographing many of Michael Palin’s travel films.

This film was first broadcast in August 2001.

 

About the speaker:

We are fortunate to have David George to present this documentary. David is a photographer and videographer who has presented slides and film many times to the SSEA Calgary chapter beginning with photos taken on his and his wife’s travels in Egypt in 1999. Through the late Nick Millet of University of Toronto, David became expedition photographer for Donald Redford’s dig at Mendes in the Nile delta for the years 2000 through 2004. He also gave talks at several Chacmool conferences, and was one of the first speakers during the SSEA Vancouver chapter’s first year, 2010.

Room EDC 287, Education Classroom Block, University of Calgary

Lecture: Coffins as Conveyors of Religious Iconography – A Case Study

Posted in 2018 - 2019, Event, Lecture

PLEASE NOTE A NEW ROOM LOCATION AND START TIME FOR THIS LECTURE,

DETAILED AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

Date: Friday, February 22, 2019

Time: 7:00 – 8:30 pm

Cost: Meetings are Free to Members; Guests $5, Students with ID $2


Description:

During the Twenty-first Dynasty, there was a significant change in funerary architecture where the coffin assumed the role of the tomb. In this capacity, the coffin became an essential conveyor of religious iconography, which was previously located on the walls of decorated tombs. This talk will focus on the iconography of the coffin with specific focus on the imywt fetish, an important religious symbol that can be found on the exterior walls of anthropoid coffins of the Twenty-first Dynasty. I will discuss the significance of the imywt fetish and the role it plays in the concept of transference of tomb iconography to coffins as well as its importance as a regenerative device for the deceased within the coffin.

About the speaker:

Beth Labrecque is a graduate of the University of Liverpool with a Masters of Egyptology. Her research focuses on religious iconography on coffins of the Twenty-first Dynasty, specifically images of the imywt fetish. She also holds a B.A. Honours in Classical Studies, a B.A. Minor in Religious Studies (Queens), and a certificate in Cultural Resource Management (Simon Fraser). Beth is the former treasurer of the Vancouver branch of the SSEA.

NEW START TIME:

February 22, 2019 – 7 PM sharp

NEW ROOM IN THE EDC BLOCK:

Room EDC 284, Education Classroom Block, University of Calgary