Members' Annual Lunch
Saturday 11th January 2025, 2 p.m.
On 11 January, we had our members' lunch at the Ring O'Bells in St James Street. There is a room upstairs that can fit a group. Just over 12 members met there in the early afternoon and shared a lunch of starters, followed by main courses and even some desserts and coffee. The room was full of chatter and laughter, and apart from the cold temperature, the event went really well!
Happy New Year to everyone!
Taunton Literary Festival 2024
"Women in the Valley of the Kings:
The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age"
by Dr Kathleen Sheppard
Saturday 21st September 2024, 2 p.m.
The history of Egyptology is often told as yet another grand narrative of powerful men vying for the day and the precious artefacts for their competing homelands. But this is only half the story. During the so-called 'Golden Age' of Egyptology, women were working and exploring long before Howard Carter discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun. Women worked in Egypt, laying the foundations for all future exploration. In her book, Kathleen Sheppard tells the exciting stories of the earliest Western women Egyptologists.
The lecture was hosted by the Egyptian Society Taunton in conjunction with the Taunton Literary Festival, organised and marketed
by Brendon Books, Taunton’s independent bookseller
Venue: St James Church, St James Street, Taunton TA1 1JS
Coach trip to the Egypt Centre at Swansea
Saturday April 13th 2024
On 13th April 2024 a group of 24 members of the EST met at 7.30am at the Old Bus Station in Taunton to embark on a coach trip to visit the Egypt Centre in Swansea, Wales. The trip was organised by Jan Diamond, the Society's Programme Secretary, and Louise Clatworthy, the Society's Secretary.
We arrived at the Egypt Centre at the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities at Swansea University in Singleton Park at 10.30am after a smooth journey. We were met by Dr Ken Griffin, the Curator, and Dr Meg Gundlach, the Collections Access Manager, who both spent the day with us.
The Egypt Centre is not a widely known museum and we were delighted to see that the collection is large and varied, with interesting and beautiful objects ranging from the painted coffin of a female musician from Thebes, beautiful beaded necklaces from the time of Tutankhamun, statues of gods and goddesses, to everyday objects used by the ancient Egyptians such as tools, pottery and weapons. There are around 6000 objects in the collection. Most were collected by the pharmacist Sir Henry Wellcome. Others come from the British Museum, Aberystwyth University, the Royal Edinburgh Museum, the National Museums and Galleries of Wales Cardiff, the Royal Albert Museum and Art Gallery, Woking College and private donors.
Sir Henry Wellcome collected objects from excavations. The Egypt Centre's collection includes objects from Armant, Amarna, Deir el-Medina, Esna, Mostagedda, Qau etc. He also collected objects from private individuals. These include Robert De Rustafjaell, Gayer-Anderson, Berens, Cesnola, the Rev. William Frankland Hood and the Rev. William MacGregor.
We were split into two groups of 12 to make it easier to interact with Ken and Meg.
Each group had a museum tour with Ken in the House of Death and House of Life galleries, while the other group enjoyed a handling session with Meg and the chance to see some objects on loan from the Harrogate collection.. We also had some free time in the galleries in the afternoon.
The timing of the visit allowed us to see the largest original watercolour by Howard Carter (EES.ART.224), the latest archive loan from the EES in London. Carter painted the scene in 1894, when he was just 19 years old, while working for the Egypt Exploration Fund (later EES) at the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari.The scene shows the pharaoh Tuthmosis I with his mother Senseneb. Hatshepsut was keen to display her royal lineage in the temple which helped to justify her rule which was initially shared with her stepson, Tuthmosis III.
We arrived back in Taunton at 6.30pm. Everyone enjoyed the visit very much, we all had a fantastic time.
Many thanks to Jan, Louise, Meg and Ken!
And many thanks to Kay & John for the photographs!
More info on the Egypt Centre: https://www.egypt.swan.ac.uk/
Members’ Lunch
Saturday January 13th 2024, 2 p.m.
On the 13th of January we had our members' lunch. Last year we went to The Cosy Club but many members were not happy with the service. So members of the committee visited a few other places to find an alternative venue and chose The Ring O'Bells in St James Street. There is a room upstairs that can accommodate a group. Just over 20 of us met there at midday and shared a lunch of starters, followed by main courses and even some desserts and coffee. The room was buzzing with chatter and laughter, and apart from the rather chilly temperature in the room, the event went really well!
Happy New Year to all!
Taunton Literary Festival 2023
"The Earl and the Pharaoh"
by Lady Fiona Carnarvon, 8th Countess of Carnarvon
Saturday November 18th November 2023, 2 p.m.
The life, wealth and sudden death of the 5th Earl of Carnarvon became
world news after his discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun with Howard Carter.
This lecture by Fiona, 8th Countess of Carnarvon, draws on the never-before-seen archives of the Earl's beloved home, Highclere Castle (known to millions as the setting for Downtown Abbey).
Her new book, The Earl and the Pharaoh, chronicles the twists and turns of fortune and tragedy that shaped Carnarvon's life;
his restless and inquisitive mind, the spirit that drove him to travel to escape the conventional social life of Edwardian Britain.
Lady Carnarvon, who lives at Highclere Castle, is a historian and public speaker
and has written the New York Times bestsellers
Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey and
Lady Catherine and the Real Downton Abbey, among many others.
The lecture was hosted by the Egyptian Society Taunton
in conjunction with the Taunton Literary Festival, organised
and marketed by Brendon Books, Taunton’s independent bookseller
Venue: St James Church, St James Street, Taunton TA1 1JS
Taunton Literary Festival 2022
Tutankhamun’s Trumpet
Prof. Toby Wilkinson
Saturday 26th November 2022, 2 p.m.
On November the 26th 1922 Howard Carter first peered into the newly opened tomb of Tutankhamun. Exactly 100 years later we were delighted to welcome Prof Toby Wilkinson who shared with us vivid descriptions, unusual details, surprising insights and remarkable objects he analysed and presented in his latest fascinating book.
The lecture was hosted by the Egyptian Society Taunton
in conjunction with the Taunton Literary Festival, organised
and marketed by Brendon Books, Taunton’s independent bookseller
Venue: St James Church, St James Street, Taunton TA1 1JS
Taunton Literary Festival 2019
Sethy I, King of Egypt : His Life and Afterlife
Prof. Aidan Dodson, Bristol University
Saturday 23 November 2019, 2 p.m.
The lecture was hosted by the Egyptian Society Taunton
in conjunction with the Taunton Literary Festival, organised
and marketed by Brendon Books, Taunton’s independent bookseller
Venue: St James Church, St James Street, Taunton TA1 1JS
Professor Barry Kemp's lecture
& our Christmas party
December the 8th
Thanks to everyone for their contributions to another successful day. Members and other visitors seemed to enjoy
Barry Kemp's excellent lecture and our Christmas party that followed.
We are sending our thanks to you all, together with best wishes for Christmas and the New Year, and we look forward
to another year of success and progress.
Jewellery inspired by ancient Egypt
Christine Dubery and Lenka Peacock put their heads together and have designed and made necklaces which are reminiscent of ancient Egyptian jewelry from both Middle and New Kingdoms to raise funds for the Society. They are made of semi precious stones - turquoise, carnelian, lapis lazuli and amethyst. These were on sale at our November meeting. Thanks to the interest they enjoyed there will be some more coming to Taunton on December the 8th!
Thank you for your support!
Dr Chris Naunton at the Taunton Literary Festival 2018
"Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt
On Saturday 10th November the Egyptian Society Taunton joined Brendon Books for the 8th Taunton Literary Festival 2018 and we were delighted to have Dr Chris Naunton as our guest speaker for the event.
With his usual relaxed and friendly manner Chris talked to us about the perennial questions regarding ancient "Lost Tombs of Egypt" - those which might yet be found. Beginning by looking into why Egyptologists suspect there are many more to be found, he took us through the known Pharaohs and Queens - listing those whose tombs have not yet been discovered.
He showed how Egypt has provided the world with some of the most sensational archaeological discoveries in history: from Tutankhamun, to the ‘Royal Cache’ and the secret reburial of the mummies of pharaohs like Ramesses the Great. We might think that there couldn’t possibly be any more discoveries like this, that archaeologists have surely found everything there is to find; however, Chris then went on to say that this is not the case. He showed that large areas of even the most famous archaeological sites, such as the Valley of Kings, Saqqara, and Alexandria remain unexplored and the tombs of some of the great ancients; such celebrities as Imhotep, Nefertiti, Cleopatra and Alexander the Great, have never been found.
Chris talked at length about the dramatic Amarna Period, when on the death of Akhenaten his
legacy was deliberately, all but destroyed, and therefore, there are tombs in the area of Amarna yet to be established.
The talk was fabulous! Chris is an excellent and engaging speaker and the event was a great success, after which Chris was very happy to sit and sign the many copies of his book that were sold as part of the day.
Thank you Chris - we very much look forward to having you back with us here at Taunton.
Dr Chris Naunton:
Dr Chris Naunton is an Egyptologist, writer, broadcaster and public speaker. He frequently appears on television and radio, notably as the presenter of The Man Who Discovered Egypt (BBC4, 2012), Tutankhamun: The Mystery of the Burnt Mummy (Channel 4, 2013), and King Tut's Treasures Channel 5, 2018). Chris worked for many years at the Egypt Exploration Society, as its Director from 2012 to 2016, and in 2015 he was elected President of the International Association of Egyptologists. In 2016 he became Director of the Robert Anderson Trust, a charity which provides support for young
scholars visiting London to further their studies and research.
The Committee members with Dr Chris Naunton after his lecture Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt.
Watercolours by Christine Dubery on sale
Christine Dubery, a member of our Society and an amateur painter with a good eye for harmony, very kindly donated to us around 60 of her delightful watercolours with Egyptian motifs. Some are framed and some are set within picture mounts in clear cases. The sizes vary from about A3 to A6. The motifs of the paintings are all related to Egypt - ancient as well as modern. There are Nile views, tomb reliefs, Cairo themes, statues and temples topics - some are just quick sketches and some are skillful replications of the original. The prices are set between £15 for the large
framed watercolours and as little as £2 for the unframed sketches
The sale of the paintings will take place at the Meeting House on May the 12th at the time of our monthly lecture
The proceeds will go towards the Society's funds
On Saturday 28th March 2018 EST enjoyed a great day visiting
the Griffith Institute and the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford.
The Griffith Institute: The Griffith holds the original archives from Howard Carter's discovery of the tomb
of Tutankhamun; and we were very privileged to enjoy the friendly and professional expertise of
three of the Archive Staff, who showed us some of the documents from the find.
Howard Carter's dig diary November the 4th 1922
We gazed (some, almost reverentially) upon Howard Carter's original diaries, notes, records and even some of his paintings from the find. Seeing the very page of his diary of 4th November 1922 - which simply said "First steps of tomb found" was incredible!
Carter's Egyptian paintings were beautiful (Carter being an artist before becoming an Egyptologist). In addition, we were shown many of Harry Burton's photographs of the documenting and removal of the more than 5000 items from the tomb. It was amazing to think we were looking at the very documentation of Carter's historical find!
In addition, we were shown documents from Pietro Bracci - an Italian architect (1700–1773). Bracci's greatest claim to fame is probably the Trevi Fountain in Rome: designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Bracci.
Bracci had a wide range of interests which included architecture, military engineering and sundials; and Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. The Griffith Institute now holds some of his original works: his drawings, as well as his attempts at deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs - a century before Champollion finally succeeded. His efforts were often close to the mark and showed a lot of knowledge, and were beautiful and insightful - and lovely to see.
A page from Pietro Bracci's "lost" manuscript that the Griffith Institute is currently preparing for publication
We were also shown original water colour paintings by Hector Horeau (1801 - 1872) a French architect who visited Egypt in 1839 and produce the beautiful images of Abu Simbel and other places in Egypt.
Hector Horeau's panorama of Cairo
Hector Horeau's original watercolours
Finally, to add to this archive-fest, original documents and information relating to Amelia Edwards and Sir Flinders Petrie - it was all quite remarkable, and we were enthralled.
The staff also told us it is now permissible to download any and all of the archives held there -
see: http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/archive/
The Egyptian Gallery, the Ashmolean: For this we had the privilege of having Dr Aidan Dodson of Bristol University taking us on a private guided tour of the Gallery. He informed us that the Ashmolean had one of the largest collections of pre-dynastic Ancient Egyptian artefacts in the country.
Aidan, as always, was friendly and generous with his time and knowledge. He gave us a wonderful, informative tour of the collection, which holds a wide range of artefacts from pre-dynastic through to the Late Period. It was terrific having Aidan with us - a privilege indeed!
Between the two tours there was plenty of time for an enjoyable, relaxed lunch, and the day
ended with an easy coach trip back to Taunton.
The day was enjoyed very much by everyone: so thank you to everyone at the Griffith Institute, Dr. Aidan Dodson and staff at the Ashmolean, the EST committee and to all our members for their support which made this trip possible.
OXFORD TRIP
Tour to the Ashmolean Museum & Griffith Institute
Saturday 28th April 2018
On Saturday 28th April 2018, the Egyptian Society Taunton will be running a day-trip to Oxford -
one of the most important cities in the UK from the point of view of Egyptology:
The Ashmolean Museum - the country's oldest public museum - holds a large, superb and well-displayed
collection of Egyptological artefacts. The Griffith Institute houses some of the greatest treasures and archives of Egyptological records; including Howard Carter's original records and Harry Burton's photographs of the excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun.
Details of the Day:
We are very lucky to have Dr. Aidan Dodson, of Bristol University with us for the day, to give us a private guided tour of the Ashmolean's Egyptian collection.
We have also arranged a private tour of the Griffith Institute archives by one of the Institute staff - specifically of
the Howard Carter/Tutankhamun archives.
Numbers:
- The Ashmolean - numbers limited to 13 per tour.
- The Griffiths Institute - numbers limited to 10 per tour.
Places at the museums will be allocated on a "first-come- first-served basis", and to members if necessary, however, we have booked 2 tours at each venue.
- We have a 32-seater coach (with a toilet on board) and are very happy to have friends and family coming along for the day, even if they cannot or do not wish to visits the museums.
Arrangements of the Day:
We have booked a morning and an afternoon tour at each venue.
We will be divided into 2 groups and with each group having a morning and afternoon tour, with an hour and a half break for lunch between tours.
Costs:
Both museums are free to get into, however they do ask for voluntary donations. We are including these in the cost of the day, to thank museums for providing the tour and to support
their ongoing work in preserving their unique collections.
At the moment with all donations, driver's tip and coach hire, the cost per person is expected to be in the region of £35 - £40 per head (to be confirmed on final numbers). This will be made up
on £10 of donations, and the cost of the coach will be divided by the final number of people coming along.
**** Please click here to download the attached booking form for details of how to book your place. ****
To read more about the collection at the Ashmolean Museum, follow the link to http://www.deirelmedina.com/lenka/Ashmolean.html
Twenty-six members of the Society met for an informal lunch at Prezzo in Taunton on Saturday 13th January 2018. It was the first time such an event had been held as the Committee felt that it would be a good idea for our members to spend a bit of informal time together. We were particularly happy to welcome three new members, who joined the Society following our successful participation in the Taunton Literary Festival with the lecture by Joann Fletcher. Following the good response, we plan to make it an annual event.
The Committee members with Prof Joan Fletcher before her lecture Ancient Egypt : New Stories. The lecture took place on Saturday 11th November 2017 and was held at St James Church, St James Street, Taunton. The event was organised in conjunction with the Literary Festival run by Brendon Books in Taunton.
