2011 – 2012 Events
Lecture: Egypt and Ugarit
Egypt and Ugarit
Date: 7:30 – 9:00pm, 04-May-2012
Cost: Meetings are Free to members, Guests $5 – Students with ID $2
Description:
The Syrian city of Ugarit was a cosmopolitan city in the Late Bronze Age – a major hub in the larger eastern Mediterranean commercial and cultural networks that typified the period. Ironically, because the city was destroyed at the end of the Bronze Age, much of the remains from that time were preserved to an exceptional degree, including various cuneiform archives. Much of the focus of the study of Ugarit has been on the relationship between this textual corpus and the Old Testament, since there are evident similarities. There is also much evidence for relations between Ugarit and Egypt, although the exact nature of these interactions is less clear. In this talk, Dr. McGeough explores the shifting relationships between Ugarit and Egypt from the Middle Kingdom through the New Kingdom and explores how some of the material from Ugarit illustrates how Egypt acted and was perceived in Syria during the Bronze Age.
About the speaker:
Kevin McGeough is an Associate Professor of archaeology at the University of Lethbridge. A specialist in the Late Bronze Age city of Ugarit, McGeough has excavated at many sites throughout the Near East, including the Middle Kingdom town at Abydos.
Location:
Room EDC 287 in the Education Block at the University of Calgary.
Lecture-Change: The Decline of the Old Kingdom, Dynasties 5 and 6
The Decline of the Old Kingdom, Dynasties 5 and 6
Date: 7:30 – 9:00pm, 13-Apr-2012
Cost: Meetings are Free to members, Guests $5 – Students with ID $2
Description:
Due to unforeseen circumstances, our next talk will be continuing our study of the Old Kingdom. The waning years of the Old Kingdom are one that many researchers have investigated and speculated about as they try to answer the question of why the palatial economy & hierarchical society of Old Kingdom Egypt, which was string enough to build the pyramid complexes and send trade missions to Asia, decline? The implications of the power vacuum and the rise of the nomarchs in the First Intermediate Period had a profound impact on Egyptian civlization.
About the speaker:
Julius Szekrenyes is our Calgary SSEA predident and was also president from our formation up to 1989. He has had a life-long interest in Ancient Egypt and has taught Ancient Egyptian history at U. of C. Continuing Education for 15 years.
Location:
Room EDC 287 in the Education Block at the University of Calgary.
Lecture: Botanical Drug Use (and Abuse) of the Ancient Egyptians
Botanical Drug Use (and Abuse) of the Ancient Egyptians
Date: 7:30 – 9:00pm, 13-Apr-2012
Cost: Meetings are Free to members, Guests $5 – Students with ID $2
Description:
Certain plants and trees were considered sacred in Egyptian religion and myth. Yet, uncertainty surrounds the actual identity of some specimens, both by the Ancient Egyptians themselves and by modern researchers. For example, is the Book of the Dead’s most secret Ished tree: balanites or persea? Heavy consumption of desirable botanicals no doubt played a role in the use and abuse of Egyptian plants. With emphasis on the more sinister or nefarious botany which affected insect, fish, ungulates and people alike, this talk will look at the surreal plant reliefs of Thutmose III’s ‘Botanical Garden’ in Karnak Temple. As well, the likely plants Helen of Troy would have obtained from Egypt will be speculated upon. Further speculation of Egypt’s role in the extinction of sylphium, and the fashion of poisonous figs in the reign of Cleopatra will be entertained.
About the speaker:
Following 2 years part-time study at the Wellcome Institute in the History of Medicine, and a B.Sc. in Archaeological Sciences, Roz Park has maintained an avid interest in Ancient Egyptian medicine. For a while, she was working on a combined UK/Israel M.Sc. project on the ‘Balm of Gilead’ – the famous all-heal medicine and perfume of the Bible, before unfortunate events switched her studies to Egyptian astronomy. This culminated in her definitive dating of the Dendara Zodiac in her M.A. dissertation (2004).
Location:
Room EDC 287 in the Education Block at the University of Calgary.
Lecture: Highlights of the Early Old Kingdom
Highlights of the Early Old Kingdom
Date: 7:30 – 9:00pm, 02-Mar-2012
Cost: Meetings are Free to members, Guests $5 – Students with ID $2
Description:
Finishing with our surveys of the overall history of the Old Kingdom, this lecture will cover the main accomplishments of the Early Old Kingdom when the most complex and then the very largest pyramids were built. We will be looking at how the ancient Egyptians were able to construct these massive monumental buildings, but also how the development of these burial places developed through time.
About the speaker:
Julius Szekrenyes is our Calgary SSEA predident and was also president from our formation up to 1989. He has had a life-long interest in Ancient Egypt and has taught Ancient Egyptian history at U. of C. Continuing Education for 15 years. In a previous life, he was a pathologist.
Location:
Room EDC 287 in the Education Block at the University of Calgary.
Movie: A Film about the Old Kingdom – Part 2, 03-Feb-2012
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm, 02-Dec-2011
Cost: Meetings are Free to members, Guests $5 – Students with ID $2
Description:
Continuing our journey into the Old Kingdom, we will watch a movie about that time period. This movie will complement our last meeting nicely as we explore aspects of the Old Kingdom’s formative role in ancient Egyptian culture. We hope to see you there and hope that 2012 has been good to you so far.
Location:
Room EDC 287 in the Education Block at the University of Calgary.
Movie: A Film about the Old Kingdom, 02-Dec-2011
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm, 02-Dec-2011
Cost: Meetings are Free to members, Guests $5 – Students with ID $2
Description:
For our attendees, we present a movie about a formative time in ancient Egypt, the Old Kingdom (2686 – 2181 BCE). The film will explore the aspects of the Old Kingdom’s hallmark administration and architectural feats. This film will give you a good idea on how the Old Kingdom fits in with Egyptian history and why this period is seen by many to be the hallmark of ancient Egypt’s grandeur. We hope to see you there!
Location:
Room EDC 287 in the Education Block at the University of Calgary.
Lecture: Predynastic Egypt – Before The Pharaohs
Predynastic Egypt – Before The Pharaohs
Date: 7:30 – 9:00pm, 04-Nov-2011
Cost: Meetings are Free to members, Guests $5 – Students with ID $2
Description:
Our long-range plan is to give a step-by-step History of Ancient Egypt, from earliest human habitation down to Roman occupation. We have already covered Paleolithic and Neolithic development, and this lecture will cover the 1000 years of late Predynastic Egypt when the patterns of Egyptian civilization were laid down.
About the speaker:
Julius Szekrenyes is our Calgary SSEA predident and was also president from our formation up to 1989. He has had a life-long interest in Ancient Egypt and has taught Ancient Egyptian history at U. of C. Continuing Education for 15 years. In a previous life, he was a pathologist.
Location:
Room EDC 287 in the Education Block at the University of Calgary.
Lecture: Ancient Egyptian Scarabs
Ancient Egyptian Scarabs: An Overview
Date: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm , 07-Oct-2011
Cost: Meetings are Free to members, Guests $5 – Students with ID $2
DESCRIPTION:
The image of a scarab beetle has come to represent an icon for ancient Egyptian civilization in modern times. Given that scarabs were produced throughout the course of pharaonic history, their development and material context can tell us a lot about an archaeological site or find. Looking at first at how the scarab beetle was integrated into the ancient Egyptian “cosmic deity” pantheon, we will then examine their artistic (and textual) development. The aim of this lecture is to provide attendees with a few rough guidelines on how to date scarabs and differentiate commemorative scarabs in museums.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Nicholas Wernick is a Calgarian currently studying for his PhD in Egyptian Archaeology at the University of Liverpool. The main topic of his thesis is ancient Egyptian fortifications in the Late Bronze Age and what the nature of ancient Egyptian imperialism in the Levant was like during the 19th & 20thDynasties. In addition to his PhD work, he has been published in academic journals and Ancient Egypt Magazine.
LOCATION:
We are moving to a new location this fall. We have booked room EDC 287 in the Education Block at the University of Calgary.