New Short Course on the Sites of Thebes

Over the past year, the Egypt Centre has organised five successful short courses via Zoom. The COVID lockdown has provided this new platform and allowed us to attract a larger and more international audience. These courses have been attended by 631 participants, which is much more than what would have been possible had they taken place at Swansea. Sessions take place on Sunday evenings and are repeated live on Wednesday mornings. Additionally, recordings of the sessions are make available to students via our online catalogue. Thus, the courses are accessible to participants wherever they are in the world, regardless of time differences or other commitments!

Fig. 1: Course poster

This coming Sunday (21 March), we will have the first session of a new course entitled Thebes: The City of 100 Gates (fig. 1). The city of Thebes (modern Luxor) is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. This UNESCO World Heritage site is home to some of the most well-known monuments from ancient Egypt, making it the largest open-air museum in the world (fig. 2). Thebes was the domain of the god Amun, whose expansive temples of Karnak and Luxor were constructed and expanded upon on the East Bank of the Nile. The West Bank was the city of the dead, containing the tombs of rulers such as Ramesses the Great, the “boy-king” Tutankhamun, and the female pharaoh Hatshepsut (fig. 3). Additionally, the Valley of the Queens houses the majestic tomb of Nefertari, often referred to as the Sistine Chapel of ancient Egypt because of its fine paintings. This course will examine the history, development, and sites of ancient Thebes. Throughout the course, objects in the Egypt Centre will be integrated into the sessions when possible.

Fig. 2: Medinet Habu

As with previous courses, this one will take place over five weeks, with the proposed schedule as follows:

Week 1 (Sunday 21 March or Wednesday 24 March): Introduction; the geography and history of the site

Week 2 (Sunday 28 March or Wednesday 31 March): The East Bank Temples (Karnak and Luxor Temple)

Week 3 (Sunday 04 April or Wednesday 07 April): The Royal Necropoleis (Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, el-Tarif, Dra Abu el-Naga)

Week 4 (Sunday 11 April or Wednesday 14 April): The Temples of Millions of Years (Deir el-Bahari, the Ramesseum, Medinet Habu)

Week 5 (Sunday 18 April or Wednesday 21 April): “Houses of Eternity”: The Tombs of the Nobles (Deir el-Medina, Sheikh abd-el Qurna, Asasif, South Asasif)

 

Fig. 3: Deir el-Bahari

This course costs £40, with fees going directly to supporting the Egypt Centre as we continue to remain closed to visitors. Your place on the course can be booked via the following link. We are grateful to everyone who has supported us, and continue to do so, over the past year!