Photos by James Kellie
Fascinated by ancient civilisations?
We offer anyone with any level of knowledge, inspiring and exciting short courses on Ancient Egypt and other areas of the Ancient World.
Latest news from Bloomsbury...
14th May 2013
Deputy Director Lucia Gahlin introduces our first speaker of the day.
An usual and exciting study day
Our study day on May 11th was certainly a day to get our teeth into. ‘Lost Languages: the enigma of the world’s undeciphered scripts’ was attended by 155 enthusiastic participants keen to find out more about a fascinating subject. We didn’t come away disappointed!
12th February 2013
BSS students exploring 'Vulture Rock' at El Kab
BSS in Egypt 2013 – another successful course in Egypt
John Romer gave ten fascinating and thought-provoking lectures on A History of Thebes. He explained the lesser-known features of the Theban landscape. We visited many sites including some usually closed to visitors, including Medamud, Malqata, the temple of Mentuhotep at Deir el-Bahri, and the tomb of Antefoker/Senet. An exciting time was had by all.
19th December 2012
Dr Gunter Dreyer, director of excavations at Umm el-Qaab, explains the tomb of Djer to the BSS group.
High praise from participants for BSS in Egypt 2012
We're just back from a really fantastic BSS in Egypt with 30 participants. An exciting and innovative course taught in Sohag and Luxor, Abydos and Beyond: a sacred landscape, with daily exploration of fascinating rarely-visited ancient sites, including nine sites usually closed to visitors. A huge thank you to our lecturers Stephen Harvey and Bryan Kraemer, our guide Yusuf Ramsis, and the tour arranger from Egypt Everywhere who made it all happen, Galal Alsenusy.
21st November 2012
BSS Hieroglyphs students with Bill Manley and José Pérez-Accino at the British Museum (Summer 2012). Photograph by Louis-Phillip Belle-Isle.
We’re now taking bookings for our 2013 summer schools
Immerse yourself this summer in Ancient Egypt and/or Iran. We offer 5-day courses on ancient languages, art, history and archaeology.
16th November 2012
Meroitic on an offering table from Meroe, MFA Boston.
Announcing our Spring study day
Our next study day has been inspired by Andrew Robinson’s fascinating book Lost Languages: The Enigma of the World's Undeciphered Scripts, and we are delighted that this distinguished writer will be giving two of the lectures. He will be joined by specialists Professor John Bennet and Dr Robert Morkot.
20th September 2012
Bryan Kraemer at Abydos
BSS in Egypt 2012 update
We have recently invited Bryan Kraemer to team up with Stephen Harvey, to add additional insights and to give the final two lectures of the programme. Bryan's doctoral thesis is on Abydos as a Place of Ritual Performance and Religious Imagination in Greco-Roman Egypt at the University of Chicago.
He is also a member of the Ahmose and Tetisheri Project and the University of Pennsylvania Expedition to South Abydos, so with Bryan's knowledge complementing that of Stephen's, he'll be a great addition to the BSS in Egypt 2012 experience.
10th September 2012
Dr Paul Roberts at BSS study day. Photo: S.Klinge
Another fantastic study day
Dr Paul Roberts, Curator of the upcoming exhibition at the British Museum, Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum (28 March – 29 September 2013) gave us a brilliant study day on these two Roman towns, and the exhibition itself. The160 of us able to attend the day are now incredibly well-prepared for seeing the exhibition, and can’t wait …!
25th July 2012
Amarna 'talatat' relief block, Brooklyn Museum
Another six successful summer schools
120 participants of all ages and backgrounds joined us for our summer schools this year. Professor Barry Kemp’s course on ‘Akhenaten, Nefertiti and the people they ruled’ was particularly popular, but the feedback was fantastic for all six courses.
We will be announcing our 2013 summer courses towards the end of this year.
4th July 2012
John Romer looks across Deir el-Medina with BSS in Egypt 2010 group Photo: B.Burnett
Announcing BSS in Egypt 2013
Following the success of John Romer’s 2010 BSS in Egypt course, we bring you a NEW course taught in Luxor with daily lectures and exploration of ancient sites.
25th June 2012
Pompeii
Announcing our September study day
Next year the British Museum will stage an important exhibition on Pompeii and Herculaneum. The curator of this exhibition, Dr Paul Roberts, will give us a day of lectures entitled Pompeii and Herculaneum AD 79 (Vesuvius, Naples, London).
23rd May 2012
Pyramid Texts in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology
Our summer timetables are now available
The timetables for our summer schools are now available for your perusal. If you like the look of a course, go ahead and book as time is running out.
‘Akhenaten, Nefertiti and the People they Ruled’ is fully-booked, and ‘Daily Life Rituals in Ancient Egypt’ is nearly full, but there’s still plenty of choice, so take a look ….
14th May 2012
John Romer at Giza
Our Spring Study Day heralded a triumph
John Romer rarely lectures but on May 12th he gave four lectures for us on his latest research. Almost 300 of you attended this study day entitled Ancient Egypt: myth and history, and all agreed that John’s beautifully illustrated lectures were fascinating, entertaining, and wonderfully thought-provoking.
If you would like to read John’s latest theories, then you will find them in his new book: A History of Ancient Egypt: from the first farmers to the Great Pyramid.
23rd February 2012
Dr Bill Manley
Dr Bill Manley will be teaching hieroglyphs to BSS students this year
We can now announce that Dr Bill Manley will be joining Dr José-R. Pérez-Accino to co-direct our two hieroglyphs courses this year. This is exciting news because Bill is known to many as one of the world’s leading teachers of hieroglyphs, and he is co-author of the acclaimed ‘How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs’ used as the textbook for our Hieroglyphs for Beginners course.
24th January 2012
Stephen Harvey
We're now taking bookings for BSS in Egypt 2012
In response to popular demand, we are offering a course on Abydos directed by Dr Stephen Harvey, who has excavated at the site since 1988. Ten lectures and daily visits to relevant ancient sites, including nine sites usually closed to visitors.
13th January 2012
Barry Kemp’s excavations at the North Palace, Tell el-Amarna
You can now book onto our 2012 summer schools
Why not study hieroglyphs with us, whether you are a beginner or old hand. You could focus on a popular aspect of Egyptology with us – religion, the Amarna Period or warfare. If your interest is the Ancient Near East, you could study life in Ancient Iraq with us.
3rd January 2012
John Romer at Medinet Habu
Announcing our Spring study day
John Romer is known to many through his inspiring television programmes and books such as Ancient Lives, The Valley of the Kings and The Great Pyramid, but rarely lectures these days. So we are thrilled at BSS that he has agreed to give not one but four lectures on his latest research for our Spring study day on Saturday May 12th.
29th December 2011
BSS students examine Seti I's broken obelisk at Qubbet el-Hawa
Our 2011 BSS in Egypt course was a great success
We are just back from a wonderful week in Aswan: Dr Robert Morkot, an expert on Nubia, gave a series of lectures on Abu: Gateway to Nubia. Our exploration of the archaeological sites of Aswan was comprehensive (even visiting some additional sites not on the original itinerary) with Robert always on hand to share his insights. A huge thank you to Sinusret Travel, our guide Galal Alsenusy and Robert Morkot.
7th October 2011
Our courses take place here at UCL
Our 2012 Summer Schools
We are busy planning six exciting summer schools for 2012. We’re not quite ready to announce details. But we can tell you that we will be avoiding a clash with the Olympics by staging our summer courses slightly earlier next year. So we will be running six courses over the three weeks: 25 June - 13 July.
23rd August 2011
'Perceptions of Egypt' group photo taken on their 'Egypt in London' walk and talk.
Our 2011 Summer Schools
130 students of all ages and from around the world joined us in July for our six inspiring summer courses. This year we offered courses on Egypt's Predynastic Period and Old Kingdom; the art, literature and perceptions of Ancient Egypt; and the archaeology of the Ancient Near East.
We are busy thinking about next year's programme, but before then we still have places on our Egyptology course in Aswan in December:
20th July 2011
Sennedjem and his wife Iyneferti harvesting flax; their tomb wall, Deir el-Medina.
Petrie Summer Lecture
Bloomsbury Summer School enjoys a close association with the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. You don’t have to be taking one of our summer schools to attend this year’s Petrie Summer Lecture: Dr Francesco Tiradritti on Egyptian Wall Painting, followed by a reception in the Petrie Museum, on Wednesday 27th July at 6.30pm.
1st June 2011
Tutankhamun firing a composite bow in his chariot. Decorated chest from his tomb, Egyptian Museum Cairo.
The Hyksos Legacy: Technology, Arts and Culture in the Age of the Chariot
160 people attended our 2011 study day on May 14th. The lectures given by Dr Stephen Harvey, Dr Ian Shaw and Dr Keiko Tazawa were stimulating and the ambiance genial.
Look out for announcements about our 2012 Study Day.
7th March 2011
A treasure-house of images and symbols
Bloomsbury Summer School is delighted to promote the latest digital publication by Desert RATS: Rock Art Topographical Survey in Egypt’s Eastern Desert.
2nd March 2011
Our study day this year …
We are delighted to be reinstating our annual study days. This year's looks set to be as fascinating as ever: The Hyksos Legacy: Technology, Arts, and Culture in the Age of the Chariot.
2nd March 2011
A new course for July ....
Come and join us for a week exploring the remarkable art of Ancient Egypt from a most interesting perspective with Dr Stephen Harvey.
This course replaces Shining colours out of fire: Glass and glazes which we have had to cancel because Professor Thilo Rehren has been recently appointed Director of UCL's new campus in Qatar, for which we extend to him the warmest congratulations.
(Right) Scene of Puntites from Deir el-Bahri, now in Egyptian Museum, Cairo
26th February 2011
Announcing this year’s BSS in Egypt course …
We will be heading off to Aswan in December for a series of lectures on Egypt’s relations with Nubia taught by a renowned expert on this subject, Dr Robert Morkot. The course will be combined with daily visits to relevant ancient sites.
12th December 2010
More ways to pay
You can now pay for courses here on the website using PayPal – a quick, easy and secure way to pay. Alternative payment methods are still cheque, cash or money transfer.
12th December 2010
Launching our 2011 programme and branching out …
We are pleased to be launching our programme of 2011 summer schools – slightly fewer courses than usual, but just as much variety. In fact you could say more variety than usual...
View 2011 'programme-at-a-glance'
BSS in Egypt 2010 – another fantastic course in Egypt
32 BSS students have recently returned home after a wonderful week spent in Luxor enjoying 10 lectures by John Romer on Deir el-Medina and the Valley of the Kings, and visiting a great selection of archaeological sites including a special opening of the tomb of Seti I in the Valley of the Kings. BSS would like to thank John for his entertaining and thought-provoking lectures, and comments at the sites; our wonderful Egyptian guide Hani Al Bagoury; and Margaret Davies and Galal Alsinusy of Sinusret Travel for all their organisation and smooth-running arrangements.
Photo: BSS students following in the footsteps of the Deir el-Medina workmen.
4th September 2010
Launching our new-look, streamlined BSS...
The start of a new academic year heralds exciting changes. Bloomsbury Summer School and Bloomsbury Academy have now merged as Bloomsbury Summer School, and so Lucia will now be organising both courses and study days. We are also launching our new logo – an ibis chosen for its association with Thoth, the ancient Egyptian god of writing, knowledge, scribes and scholars.
Ibis, the ancient Egyptian symbol of the intellect (Ptolemaic ibis coffin, Brooklyn Museum)
