The House of Hatiay – A high status Amarna Villa
On the 9th March Ian Trumble, curator at the Bolton Museum came to speak to the Society at the Cooper Gallery. Ian started by giving some basic background to the Amarna period which helped to put the archaeological findings in context. He explained the changes in artistic styles and the new temple layouts which were […]
Deir el-Medina
The ancient Egyptian pyramids, temples and tombs were not, as previously thought, built by slaves, but by skilled and valued workmen. There are several surviving villages where these workmen lived while they were working on large projects. In her lecture The Life of Tomb Builders at Deir el-Medina Hazel McGuinness, secretary of the Horus Egyptology […]
The Egyptian Labyrinth
Dr Chris Naunton, 22nd November 2025 ‘There are also double sets of chambers, three thousand altogether, fifteen hundred above and the same number underground.’ (Herodotus, Book II, 148) This lecture, which was held at St Thomas’s Community Centre – a location that was labyrinthine for a few of us in terms of finding it – […]
Attitudes to Disability in Ancient Egypt
A lecture by Kyle Jordan This interesting talk considered the meaning of disability and evidence that showed that, for some people, it was no barrier to a meaningful role in ancient Egyptian society. Some of the highlights follow. It began with a reflection on the meaning of disability today. The term was traced to the […]
Ancient Egyptian Metallurgy
A lecture by Dr Martin Odler, 6th September 2025. Martin Odler’s lecture proved immensely informative as he sought, using his own extensive research, to explode certain myths concerning the use of metals in Ancient Egypt. Martin is a world expert on the use of copper in Ancient Egypt and he started by explaining to us […]
Experiments in Tomb Building in the Valley of the Kings
20 July 2025 I never knew that water could be so unwelcome in the desert. That is until member Diana Hayden explained in her presentation the problems tomb builders had with flooding. So much so that some passages were constructed with pits to trap the water. Then again, the Valley of the Kings was formed […]
Sofia Aziz and the Brain
Attitudes to the Brain in Ancient Egypt Ms Sofia Aziz 7th June 2025 “All that is solid melts into air” At this lecture, at the Cooper Gallery, Ms Sofia Aziz shared her recent research with a very appreciative audience. Ms Aziz explained that she wanted to explore why the ancient Egyptians (AE) discarded the brain […]
Hapy in Berlin
A selection of what Hapy members saw when they went to Berlin in March 2025 To pause the show, hover your cursor over the slide. Move it away again to resume. It was a very eventful long weekend. Some of the more notable places we visited. As you can see, we got around a bit. […]
Dr Gina Criscenzo-Laycock
On the 12th April 2025 we were delighted to welcome Dr Criscenzo-Laycock to speak to us about the First Intermediate Period: so often overlooked and yet such a fascinating period of Egyptian history. Gina started by explaining the development of the ancient Egyptian “nomes” and how they were governed by people appointed by the king, […]
Gods of Egypt
Our chairman Andrew Ward took a broad-brush approach to a very complex and extensive subject. After a short introduction, looking at the origins of worship in the natural world, Andy decided to focus on the creation myths in order to bring some structure to the subject. There were four main centres of theological thinking: 1)The […]