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News from the Committee

2024 Chairman’s Update

2024 Chairman’s Update

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It has been a good start to the year and a memorable one for the small party (10 of us) who made it to Egypt for a two-week tour of some of the most important sites. Ten days in Luxor were followed by three full days in Cairo. The programme was very full as you...
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Lecture Reviews

Dr Gina Criscenzo-Laycock

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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…
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Gods of Egypt

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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…
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The Tomb of Nefertari

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It was great, once again, to welcome our friend John Johnson from the Horus Society to deliver our February lecture and to see such a good turnout for it. John delivered his talk in his usual inimical style, with an equal measure of humour and enthusiasm. His subject, the Tomb of Nefertari, reflected John’s special…
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A Timeline of Egypt

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From crude drawings on a rock to the sophistication of Cleopatra’s court, our chairman Andrew Ward traversed 3,000 years of Egyptian history and culture, pointing out notable events and artefacts along the way. The main purpose of this was to see these things in a historical context and to appreciate the great span of time…
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Displaced: From the Nile to the Derwent. Museum Trip Review

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Visit to the Egyptology Special Exhibition at the Derby Museum. On Wednesday the 20th November, a small and committed group made its way to the Derby museum to visit the special exhibition. Despite very bad traffic, the journey was well worth it and we were rewarded with a stimulating and poignant experience. The 80 or…
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Secret Signs: Decoding the Cryptography of Egyptian Texts

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Many of us have had fun trying to detangle and translate hieroglyphs on Andy’s online courses*, but Dr Penny Wilson’s talk on Nov 16th was a stimulating reminder that hieroglyphs aren’t just an alphabet, but a powerful and flexible symbolic language. She explored decorations on temples and tombs and showed us how certain signs were…
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The History of the Rosetta Stone Rebellion

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On Saturday the 12th October Dr. Jay Silverstein, lecturer at Nottingham Trent University gave a wide ranging and fascinating talk about the context for the production of the world-famous Rosetta Stone. His lecture gave a brief summary of the history of the way in which the Greeks came to rule Egypt following the defeat by…
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Rosetta Stone

Detectives, Death and Debutantes: Agatha Christie and Egypt

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Four times Agatha Christie turned to Egypt for inspiration, or five if we include an unpublished novel Snow upon the Desert. This we learned from a most informative talk given by member Helen Fryer. Though she spent more time in Syria and Iraq with her archaeologist husband Max Mallowan, helping him with his finds, Christie…
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Chairmans Review of Dr Robert Loynes Lecture

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“Can Mummies tell us about  Health and Disease in Ancient Egypt?” On the 31st August it was our great pleasure to welcome back Dr Bob Loynes to deliver a talk on his specialist subject: the use of CT scans, and other techniques to investigate ancient Egyptian mummies. He started by looking back at the history…
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Archives

Past Public Lectures

02 – 2025 Age of the Great Overlords – Ambitious Usurpers or Loyal Officials of the King?

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Lecturer: Dr Gina Criscenzo-Laycock – Curator of the Garstang Museum of Archaeology at the University of Liverpool.

Date & Time: Saturday April 12th starting at 4:15pm

Location: Cooper Art Gallery

An ageing leader whose sexual activities have led to falling respect for the central power. Climate change causing growing social unrest and fears. Declining confidence in the  the greatness of the most powerful regional empire leading to international tensions and threats. Regional powers increasingly challenging central authority causing division and fragmentation of once commonly held social attitudes.

Often called the First Intermediate Period, such was the age of the great overlords, according to later chroniclers. But how true a picture is it and what can the social and political changes of Egypt four-and-a-half thousand years ago teach us about our modern world?

For tickets please email – Tickets.HapySociety@gmail.com or visit the Cooper Art Gallery gift shop in Church St, Barnsley, S70 2AH. You can also book tickets by phoning the Cooper Art Gallery on 01226 775678.

Cost: £15 Non-Members / £14 Members

The cost includes a buffet after the lecture with tea and coffee

01 – 2025 QV66 The Tomb of Nefertari – Presented by John Johnson

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Lecturer: John Johnson – Egyptologist and Chairman of the Horus Egyptology Society based in Wigan.

Date & Time : Saturday February 8th starting at 4:15pm

Location: Cooper Art Gallery

Be prepared to be amazed by the colour and detail of the tomb paintings and the mythology which inspired the work which has survived for nearly 3,300 years!

John Johnson will be talking to us about the tomb of Nefertari – “QV66”. Discovered in the valley of the Queens in 1904 the tomb is certainly one of the most exquisitely decorated of the Theban tombs.

Nefertari was the most favoured wife of Ramesses the Great, her name meaning beautiful companion.

The quality of the wall paintings is astonishing and reflects her personal beauty and the importance given to the instructions for achieving an afterlife in paradise.

Nefertari is often shown being presented to gods and the text is largely from the Book of the Dead with instructions about how to get through the various gates guarded by fearsome demons with terrifying names such as “opener of fore heads”!

Tickets – please email – Tickets.HapySociety@gmail.com or pop into to Cooper Gallery gift shop

Cost: £15 Non-Members / £14 Members

cost includes a buffet after the lecture with tea and coffee

06 – 2024 Secret Signs: Decoding the Cryptography of Egyptian Texts

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Lecturer: Dr Penny Wilson – Lecturer at Durham University

Date & Time : Saturday 16th November 2024 @ 4:15pm

Location: Cooper Art Gallery

Tickets – please email – Tickets.HapySociety@gmail.com or pop into to Cooper Gallery gift shop

Cost: £15 Non-Members / £14 Members

cost includes a buffet after the lecture with tea and coffee

05 – 2024 The History of the Rosetta Stone Rebellion

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Lecturer: Dr Jay Silverstein – Lecturer Nottingham Trent University

Date & Time : Saturday October 12th @ 4:15pm

Location: Cooper Art Gallery

Tickets – please email – Tickets.HapySociety@gmail.com or pop into to Cooper Gallery gift shop

Cost: £15 Non-Members / £14 Members

cost includes a buffet after the lecture with tea and coffee

04 – 2024 Can Mummies Tell us about Health and Disease in Ancient Egypt?

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Lecturer: Dr Robert Loynes – Honorary Lecturer At Manchester University’s KNH Centre

Date & Time : Saturday 31st August 2024 @ 4:15pm

Synopsis: In his lecture Dr Loynes will review the ways in which CAT scans and other research methods have been used to reveal the medical issues which faced Ancient Egyptians. Using many images from his research, he will explain what can and can’t be revealed by using CAT scans, and he will explore several of the many conditions which were part of everyday life in Ancient Egypt.  As a retired surgeon and a research Egyptologist, Dr Loynes is in a unique position to give an authoritative view on this fascinating subject and to open an evidence-based window on the lives of those who were so determined to preserve their mortal remains

Location: Cooper Art Gallery

Tickets – please email – Tickets.HapySociety@gmail.com or pop into to Cooper Gallery gift shop

Cost: £15 Non-Members / £14 Members

cost includes a buffet after the lecture with tea and coffee

03 – 2024 Singing with the Dead: The Harpist’s Song in the New Kingdom

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Lecturer: Dr Huw Twiston Davies – Lecturer in Egyptology at Manchester University

Date & Time : Saturday 15th June 2024 @4:15pm

Location: Cooper Art Gallery

Tickets – please email – Tickets.HapySociety@gmail.com or pop into to Cooper Gallery gift shop

Cost: £15 Non-Members / £14 Members

cost includes a buffet after the lecture with tea and coffee

02 – 2024 Threads through time: Textiles and Beliefs in Ancient Egypt

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Lecturer: Ian Trumble – Curator of Bolton Museum

Date & Time : Saturday 13th April 2024 @4:15pm

Location: Cooper Art Gallery

Tickets – please email – Tickets.HapySociety@gmail.com or pop into to Cooper Gallery gift shop

Cost: £15 Non-Members / £14 Members

cost includes a buffet after the lecture with tea and coffee

01 – 2024 Egypt’s Middle Kingdom: Conflict, Murder and a Cultural Golden Age

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Lecturer: Sarah Griffiths – Curator of the Manchester Egyptology Society

Date & Time : Saturday 17th February 2024 @ 4:15pm

Synopsis : The Middle Kingdom, seen as Egypt’s classical period for art, history and literature, began with the rise of a warrior king who reunified Egypt, re-established the country’s prosperity and international standing, and whose stunning mortuary temple became the template on which the great temples of the New Kingdom were based. Sarah Griffiths explores the reign and legacy of a pharaoh revered by later kings: Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II of the 11th  Dynasty.

Location: Cooper Art Gallery

Tickets – please email – Tickets.HapySociety@gmail.com or pop into to Cooper Gallery gift shop

Cost: £15 Non-Members / £14 Members

cost includes a buffet after the lecture with tea and coffee

Past Online Lectures

Egyptian Mathematics in Pharaonic Times

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When: 16th July at 7:30pm

Where: Online (Zoom)

Tony Watson, one of our members, presents a talk entitled “Egyptian Mathematics in Pharaonic Times”. It should be very enlightening and interesting.

The Baboon in Ancient Egyptian Religion and Art

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14th May 2024 @ 7:30pm –

Guest Lecturer Diana Hayden from our “Big Brother” the Horus Society will be presenting.

British Library - Baboon Statue

Egypt’s greatest pharaohs

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Date Tuesday 11th July

Time 7pm

Andy Ward (our Society’s Chairman) walks us through Egypt’s Greatest Pharaohs.  An online Zoom Presentation

Zoom ID 973-271-6211

Password 895609

The Goddess Neith

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May 2023 – Member Presenter: Christiane Cartwright – Synopsis: Neith (Nit, Net, Neit) was an ancient goddess of war and weaving. Goddess Neith was the patron goddess of the Red Crown of Lower Egypt and the city of Zau (Sais, Lower Egypt). Egyptians portrayed her as a fierce deity in her usual representations, a woman wearing the Red Crown, occasionally holding or using the bow and arrow, and in others, a harpoon. In her form as a goddess of war, she made warriors’ weapons and guarded their warriors’ bodies when they died. Her symbol was two arrows crossed over a shield.

Goddess Neith

Bill Nolan – The Turin Museum

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December 2022 – Guest Lecturer Bill Nolan from our Big Brother the Horus Society will present a talk on the Turin Museum.