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 Alexander the Great of the Persian pharaohs and the installation of the Ptolemies, relatives of the conqueror. The rebellion of the title followed the unexpected death, possibly assassination, of Ptolemy IV and the succession of Ptolemy V who was a child when he came to the throne. The stone, of which several, possibly many, were produced made it clear where the power lay and that the new young king was the undisputed ruler of Egypt.
Dr Silverstein’s insights into this period are derived from his work excavating the historic city of Thmouis, which lay close to its more famous neighbour, Mendes. Evidence has been found of a violent suppression and levelling of the city; some of the evidence is rather grim, shocking even.
As he explained the political and military details, Dr Silverstein piqued our interest with talk of warrior elephants, luxury perfume industries, defensive use of cats (yes, cats!), hordes of gold, beautiful jewellery and wonderful statues reflecting the syncretism of Greek and Egyptian gods.
This was a well-structured and expertly-delivered lecture by an academic using his first-hand experience of working on the archaeology of the key cities. We are very grateful for the time he has given us and we would love to welcome him back again before too long.