Edition - May, 2012
Vernacular Voices: Phopis, A Romano-Egyptian
In the transition to Late Antiquity, an undercurrent of vernacular culture across the Roman Empire was beginning to reassert its voice, as people on the margins of society grew in confidence. Many people were illiterate, or at least were only able to write their own name. So how can we be sure when and how this happened? One way is to listen to the voices of local people and ordinary travellers, as they took their rest in the shade. [more…]
Review: Lost Nubia. A Centennial Exhibit of Photographs from the 1905-1907 Egyptian Expedition of the University of Cairo
This book, produced to complement the exhibition of the same name, is essentially a catalogue of the photographs. Preceded by a three and a half page Introduction and followed by a one and a half page Epilogue and a map of the Nile between the Sixth Cataract and the sea, the main body of the book presents some fabulous photos in black and white from the exhibition, accompanied with detailed explanations. [more…]
TV Review: The Pharaoh Who Conquered the Sea
The Pharaoh Who Conquered the Sea follows the activities of Cheryl Ward who decided that the only way to determine whether or not Hatshepsut’s expedition to Punt in the New Kingdom was a technically viable proposition was to recreate one of the ships shown on the walls at her funerary temple and test it on the Red Sea. [more…]
Was Egypt the First Nation State?
By Kate Phizackerley and Michelle Low. Published on Egyptological, Magazine Articles, Edition 6, May 31st 2012 Editorial (Kate Phizackerley) Was Pharaonic Egypt a nation state? This is not a new question but it is hard to answer for a variety of reasons, including: the context of the question is rooted in a modern concept (nation-state); […] [more…]