Information about next year's courses available November 2010
Archive (courses July 2010)
Photos by James Kellie
BSS in Egypt: 10 – 17 November 2010
“THIS IS HOW ONE LIVES AT THEBES!”
THE LIFE AND WORKS OF THE THEBAN ROYAL TOMB MAKERS
Course Director: John Romer
This course will be directed by John Romer, a renowned expert on Deir el-Medina and the Valley of the Kings, with over 40 years experience working in Luxor. This will be a unique opportunity to hear this entertaining and knowledgeable Egyptologist give a week of lectures in the heart of Luxor. The Course Coordinator, accompanying the group throughout, will be Lucia Gahlin, BSS Deputy Director and Egyptologist.
Course Description
The extraordinary achievement of the royal tombs of Thebes cannot be fully appreciated without an understanding of the environment in which they were made. John Romer will re-explore with you the world of the Theban New Kingdom. He will consider how and why the first royal tombs were made at Thebes, and how the tomb makers who lived at Deir el Medina elaborated that tradition to create the great tombs of the Valley of the Kings. He will also explore the purposes and meanings of these tombs - and something also, of the lives and times of the archaeologists and Egyptologists who have shaped our present understanding of them. Finally, in the light of fresh and, as yet, largely unpublished evidence, he will outline a new history of the ending of the Valley of the Kings and of the remarkable community of those who worked there.
About the Course Director
John Romer has lived and worked in Luxor over forty years, serving on American and German expeditions and acting as Field Director of The Brooklyn Museum Theban Expedition, which conducted the first physical survey and conservation studies in the Valley of the Kings and the clearance and epigraphic study of the tomb of Ramesses XI. John has also dedicated a great part of his time to archaeological conservation and, as an aid to raising public awareness of the importance and fragility of the past, has made many TV and radio documentaries. Besides numerous scholarly articles and reports, his books have included The Valley of the Kings, Ancient Lives and The Great Pyramid.
Suggested Reading
Assmann, J. (2001) The Search for God in Ancient Egypt. Cornell University Press.
Hornung, E. (1999) Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife. Cornell University Press.
Kemp, B.J. (2005) Ancient Egypt; anatomy of a civilisation. Routledge.
McDowell, A.G. (1999) Village Life in Ancient Egypt. Clarendon Press.
Nims, C. (1965) Thebes of the Pharaohs. Elek (Paul) (Scientific Books) Ltd.
Piankoff, A. (1954) The Tomb of Ramesses VI. Pantheon Books.
Wente, E.F. (1990) Letters from Ancient Egypt. Scholars Press.
Lecture Programme and Site Visits
Day 1: Morning flight from Gatwick to Luxor. Check in to a 5* hotel for 7 nights
Day 2:
Visit Luxor Temple, Sheikh Abu el-Haggag mosque & Luxor Museum
Lecture: ‘Just Like Us?’ Jaroslav Cerny and the History of Deir el Medina
Day 3: Visit Karnak Temple & Mummification Museum
Lecture: Deir el Medina and the Valley of the Kings in the Ancient Theban Landscape
Lecture: Making Royal Tombs, from the Middle Kingdom to Tutankhamen
Day 4: Visit Valley of the Kings, including the tombs of Seti I (we have applied for a Special Opening from the SCA),
Ramesses VI and Ay, and Sanctuary of Ptah & Mertseger
Lecture: Howard Carter and the topography of the Valley of the Kings
Lecture: Why all the Gold? The Order and Purposes of XVIII Dynasty Royal Burials
Day 5: Visit Deir el-Medina and Medinet Habu
Lecture: Foreman and Scribes in the Royal Valley from Horemheb to Ramesses III
Lecture: What Underworld? Redesigning the Royal Tomb in the XIX – XX Dynasty
Day 6: Visit Deir el-Bahri, Seti I’s ‘Qurna Temple’ & Carter House
Lecture: The Great Ramesside Tombs & their Robbers
Lecture: Djutmose & Butehamun in Medinet Habu, Karnak, Nubia and in the Southern Theban Valleys
Day 7: Visit the Tombs of Ramose, Userhet & Khaemhet, the Ramesseum & Merenptah’s Temple
Lecture: The Excavation of the tomb of Ramesses XI and the Ending of the Valley of the Kings and the Re-burial of the Royal Mummies
Day 8: Morning & early afternoon at leisure. Early evening flight, arriving into Gatwick at 22:05.
BSS in Egypt Course Fee
£1832 (single supplement: £160).
The price of this BSS in Egypt course includes: international flights in economy class; all travel in Egypt; hotel accommodationwith breakfasts; all lectures and guided tours; entrance to all sites; welcome and farewell dinners; four lunches; tea & coffee between lectures; two small bottles of water per day; tipping (except guide and drivers); special opening of Seti I’s tomb.
The price of this BSS in Egypt course DOES NOT include: travel insurance (essential); Egyptian visa (obtainable on arrival at Luxor airport for £10); meals & drinks other than those mentioned above; tips for local Egyptian guide and coach driver.
How to book
Complete the booking form and send it to BSS with a non-returnable booking fee of £250 per person, made payable to Sinusret Travel Ltd.
Download a 'BSS in Egypt' booking form
The balance will be due by 11th August.
Cancellations
A scale of cancellation charges will apply for BSS in Egypt bookings. All participants must take out suitable travel insurance.
Should you need to cancel your booking the following charges will apply:
More than 42 days notice: Booking fee only
29-42 days: 50% or booking fee, whichever is higher
15-28 days: 60% of final invoice
8-14 days: 90% of final invoice
1-7 days and date of departure or later: 100% of final invoice
