Friday, January 18, 2019

Pearce Paul Creasman on "Excavations at a Forgotten Female Pharaoh’s Temple of Millions of Years”

Saturday, February 23, 2019 at 11am: Pearce Paul Creasman, “Excavations at a Forgotten Female Pharaoh’s Temple of Millions of Years,” in the Pillsbury Auditorium at the Minneapolis Institute of Art

++Please note: this is a free, but ticketed event. Register online or call 612.870.6323.


Yeturow
Barque Nun raises the sun


Abstract:
From 2004 to 2016, the University of Arizona Egyptian Expedition has conducted excavations at the temple of millions of years of the 19th Dynasty (ca. 1190 BCE) female pharaoh Tausret in Western Thebes (modern Luxor, Egypt). The last ruling descendant of Ramesses the Great, Tausret was a remarkable woman and one of the very few in more than 3,000 years of Egyptian history to hold the throne alone. Indeed, Homer relays that she was king of Egypt when Troy fell. By combining a variety of investigative methods (e.g., excavation, remote sensing) this project has challenged the long held assumption that her primary monument was never completed. Archaeological evidence is presented for a functional and structurally complete temple, if not fully adorned, prior to its thorough destruction in the beginning of the 20th Dynasty by a new ruling family. Important inscriptions have also been found attesting that Tausret reigned for longer than is traditionally assigned. Furthermore, other archaeological evidence regarding temple activities and later uses of the site (through the 7th c.) are presented. 

About the speaker:
Pearce Paul Creasman, PhD, is associate professor of Egyptology & Dendrochronology and curator of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona. He is also director of the University of Arizona Egyptian Expedition. 

PLEASE NOTE:
There will not be an AIA member lunch after the talk, but there will be a special opportunity to hear more from our speaker and others about Egyptian archaeology and culture:


Study Day: Kings and Pharaohs in Ancient Egypt from the Mediterranean to Sudanese Nubia


Saturday, February 23, 2019, 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm, Mia Reception Hall

$40; $32 My Mia members (membership is free!!). Register online or call 612.870.6323

This event includes two talks, refreshments, and an opportunity to connect with experts in Egyptian art and culture.

Maritime History & Archaeology of Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egyptian culture arose from the “superhighway” of the Nile and neighboring seas. Egyptian fleets sailed the Red Sea and the Mediterranean in search of exotic cargos, and foreign ships moored at Egyptian harbors for trade. The ancient inhabitants of Egypt regularly incorporated life-sustaining waters in their material and spiritual worlds, and often circumvented geological barriers to redirect them for irrigation or military transport. This talk provides a brief review of ancient Egypt’s maritime interactions.

The Pyramid Field and Royal Cemetery of Nuri in Sudanese Nubia
Much of what today is The Republic of the Sudan was within Egypt’s sphere of influence during the pharaonic period. Virtually all of the New Kingdom pharaohs led expeditions to or built monuments in “Nubia.” Yet, the independent kings of ancient Sudan (the “Kushites”) reunified the lands of ancient Egypt as the 25th Dynasty, leading the empire into the Iron Age. In 2018, the University of Arizona Egyptian Expedition started excavations at Nuri, one of two royal cemeteries in Sudan and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hear the story of the site and its builders.

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