Saturday 9th September 2023
Subject: "Who’s Who? Officials of the late 18th Dynasty."
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Speaker: Dr Robert Morkot
We visit the ‘Tombs of the Nobles’ (as they used to be called) at Luxor, Amarna, and Saqqara, admiring the decoration and serried ranks of the elite – but who exactly were they? How did they gain these positions? And how did they connect with the Pharaoh?
This talk looks at a few key officials of the later 18th Dynasty and tries to explore their origins, careers, and connections.
Saturday 14th October 2023
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Subject: "Doctors and Estate Managers: Women in the Old Kingdom"
Speaker: Dr Wolfram Grajetzki
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Hatshepsut and Cleopatra are often in the centre of discussions for women in Ancient Egypt.
However, women in the Old Kingdom had in general a much higher standing in society than in any other period of Egyptian history. There is evidence for the first female doctor, women had their own estates often with female administrators and women had their own decorated mastabas, something rarely attested in other periods of Egyptian history.
The talk will present the evidence in archaeology and in the written sources.
To be preceded by the AGM
Saturday 18th November 2023
Subject: "The Earl and the Pharaoh"
Speaker: Lady Carnarvon of Highclere Castle
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The life, wealth and sudden death of the 5th Earl of Carnarvon became world news after his discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen 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 Egyptian Society Taunton invites you to join us in person or online for this special celebration lecture, in conjunction
with the annual Taunton Literary Festival.
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N.B: This EST lecture will be held in conjunction with The Taunton Literary Festival,
and will be a ticket only event
Lady Carnarvon has a book release, from which this talk is derived, and there will be a book
signing after the lecture.
Tickets for Members and friends from Janet Diamond via
Email: unearthingegyptology@gmail.com or phone: 01823 326 604
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Saturday 9th December 2023
Subject: "The Elderly Lady’s Elephant"
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Speaker: Dr Chris Elliot
The biography of London’s oldest monument, Cleopatra’s Needle. How it came to London, and why it took nearly eighty years. A story involving over 3,300 years of history, three Pharaohs, one Emperor, fire, earthquake, war, storm, legal battles, politics, three British monarchs, three Prime Ministers, the original Mrs Brown, and Browning's Invisible Preservative. With a cast of characters including a Scots General who served everywhere from Burma to the Balkans and Canada to the Crimea, a philanthropic dermatologist who popularised the Turkish Bath in England, two civil engineer brothers who once lived in a tomb at Giza in Egypt and made discoveries in the Great Pyramid, and the man who made Tube lines (and all underground railways in the world) dip between stations.
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Saturday 13th January 2024
Members' Annual Lunch – The Ring Of Bells, Taunton
Saturday 10th February 2024
Subject: "The Nubian Pharaohs of Egypt"
Speaker: Prof Aidan Dodson (University of Bristol)
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For a few decades during the 8th to 7th centuries BC, there was a remarkable reversal of the age-old imperial domination of Nubia by Egypt. In the wake of the fragmentation of the Egyptian state during the 8th century, the Kushite state that had evolved in Nubia since Egyptian withdrawal at the beginning of the 11th century expanded northwards, ultimately absorbing the south of Egypt, including Thebes itself. Having established themselves as overlords of the various regional rulers in Egypt, the Nubian pharaohs led a national revival in Egypt, until an Assyrian onslaught drove them back into Nubia, where their composite of Egyptian and Nubian culture would survive into the 4th century AD.
​Saturday 9th March 2024
Subject: "Colours, Crystals and Sacred Shapes"
Speaker: Julie Marshall
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This talk will examine the significance of colour and minerals in the Ancient Egyptian world and look at how this translated into the acquisition and use of various minerals throughout antiquity. Some of the minerals scrutinised will include quartz, jasper, carnelian, obsidian, turquoise, calcite (Egyptian alabaster), and lapis lazuli.
We will investigate Egyptian use of minerals for protection, via amulets; adornment within jewellery; as a way of healing through medicinal practices; as part of their funerary practice, and, as a link to gods and the afterlife. We will also consider the significance of these minerals within the principles of sacred geometry including the Merkaba Star and the Pyramid.
Finally, we will explore the enduring aspects of the Ancient Egyptian’s use of minerals through the application to Crystal Therapy in the 21 st Century. There will be many examples of these minerals on display during the talk so that you will be able to appreciate their beauty in the same way as the Ancient Egyptians.
Saturday 13th April 2024
Dr Kenneth Griffin Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, Swansea University
EST Field Trip to Swansea Museum
This is a field trip, to be organised by EST to take our members and guests to enjoy a guided
tour by Dr Ken Griffin to view the Egyptian Antiquities held at Swansea University Museum.
Names of anyone interested would be appreciated ASAP to enable the committee to establish costs and coach size etc. Coach places with be organised on a ‘first-come-first-served’ basis, with members taking priority over guests.
Saturday 11th May 2024
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Subject: "The Iconography and Ideology of Nefertiti and the Amarna Royal Women"
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Speaker: Lucia Gahlin (UCL)
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The iconography and ideology of Akhenaten’s queen, Nefertiti, were like no other. Exploring Amarna art, inscriptions, and the latest archaeological evidence, Lucia will trace the development of Nefertiti’s image, and her political and cultic status, within the context of the significance of royal women in Akhenaten’s court and religion.
Saturday 8th June 2024
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Subject: "Lunar Lore in Ancient Egypt"
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Speaker: Dr John Johnson
The ancient Egyptians were expert astronomers but, in addition, the celestial bodies were
a potent source of religious and mythological inspiration. Although, much has been written about the Egyptians’ solar fascinations, rather less is known of their lunar concerns.
Drawing upon literary and archaeological evidence, this heavily illustrated lecture looks at the Moon’s prominent role in the life of Nile valley, from the earliest dynasties to the Roman Period.
N.B All meetings will be held at our new venue at: St James Church, St James Street, Taunton TA1 1JS
Due to copyright and to protect the intellectual property rights of the presenter and privacy of attendees, the Society is unable to record and publish the presentations, or to allow others to do so. To remain within The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as updated on 1 February 2021. Please do not record, photograph or screenshot any part of the presentations.