Cities in the Sand: 38th annual SSEA presents Urban Life in Ancient Egypt at the ROM

(News Release)

Toronto, Ontario – The Friends of Ancient Egypt at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities (SSEA) have partnered once again to present Cities In The Sand, the 38th Annual Symposium featuring the latest academic discoveries from Egypt, with a specific focus on urban life in ancient Egypt.

As part of this event, Egyptologists working directly in the field in Egypt along with other academics are presenting papers on life in towns and cities along the Nile from various periods throughout the country’s long history. Cities in the Sand presentations take place Saturday, December 1, 2012 from 9am to 5pm at the ROM’s Signy & Cléophée Eaton Theatre.


The Cities in the Sand symposium presents several international scholars bringing ancient cities to life with field and scholarly reports, offering a fascinating look at the process of archaeological discovery, and an examination of what excavations can teach us about ancient Egypt.
The exciting line-up of international speakers this year includes:

Professor Kathryn Bard (Boston University) speaking on Royal cities and cult centres, administrative towns, and workmen's settlements in ancient Egypt

Nicholas Picardo (Harvard University) talks about using Digital Archaeology and Virtual Stratigraphy to connect Century-Old Excavation Records and Current Research in the Settlement Archaeology of the Menkaure Valley Temple at Giza

Dr. Miriam Müller (University of Vienna) shares her work on Household Archaeology and History at Avaris in the Eastern Nile Delta

Professor Nigel Strudwick (University of Memphis) presents a view of the 'Living Thebes' of the New Kingdom, as opposed to the tombs that are so often discussed

Professor Sally Katary (Laurentian University) addresses Economic Life in Deir el Medineh and Ptolemaic Memphis

Dr. Krzys Grzymski (ROM) discusses his excavation work at the city of Meroe; and

Professor Katherine Blouin (University of Toronto at Scarborough) provides insights into a city in the Greco-Roman period of Egyptian history in “Moving Spaces, Evolving Cities: Mendes-Thmouis in the Hellenistic and Roman Times”
 
This lecture takes place alongside FREE scholarly presentations, including a Scholars' Colloquium, from Friday, November 30, 2012 from 9am to 5:00pm, Saturday December 1 from 9 am to 5 pm, and Sunday, December 2, 2011 from 1pm to 5pm, in the ROM’s Signy & Cléophée Eaton Theatre, Level 1B. Guests should enter through the President’s Choice School Entrance, at the south end of the ROM’s main building. Colloquium papers presented are not restricted to the topic of the Symposium. Attendance does not include Museum Admission.

SSEA 38th Annual Symposium tickets are: Public $90; SSEA or Royal Ontario Museum Members $80; Students with valid ID $40.
 
For more information on the lectures or to register online: www.rom.on.ca/programs/lectures/index
SSEA Media Contact: Mark Trumpour, 647.520.4339 or trumpoma@msn.com
 
- 30 -
 
The Royal Ontario Museum is an agency of the Government of Ontario.
 
Opened in 1914, Canada’s largest museum of natural history and world cultures has six million objects in its collections and galleries showcasing art, archaeology and natural science. For 24-hour information in English and French, please call 416.586.8000 or visit the ROM’s web site at www.rom.on.ca