Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has sparked renewed excitement around one of the world’s most enduring stories. If the film left you wanting to go deeper into the world behind Homer’s epic, the AIA Uncovering series Bronze Age Bundle offers a rich and rewarding way to continue the journey. This bundle explores the archaeology behind Homer's Odyssey—from the fortified city of Troy and the palace of King Nestor at Pylos, to the spectacular Uluburun shipwreck. Together,…
Istanbul to Naples aboard the 59-cabin Hebridean Sky We are delighted to invite you to join AIA lecturer and host Laetitia La Follette on an extraordinary voyage inspired by Homer’s Odyssey. Cruising through the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, this immersive cruise brings together archaeology, mythology, history, and spectacular landscapes as we follow one of the world’s greatest epic journeys. Beginning in Istanbul, we embark the intimate, 59-suite Hebridean Sky and departure to legendary Troy, where…
April 4, 2027 @ 2:00 pm
Too often overshadowed by the legacy of Assyria’s ancient kings, this presentation illuminates the queens who reigned with them in ancient Iraq during the ninth and centuries BCE. We focus on the queens of Nimrud’s Northwest Palace because it is here that Iraqi archaeologists discovered their royal tombs. The tombs contained heaps of precious jewelry and regalia, along with cuneiform inscriptions, and even some skeletal remains. Putting together these artifacts of death, and connecting them…
January 8, 2027
This unique, 17-day itinerary is the perfect trip for those who wish to revisit Egypt and discover lesser-known but spectacular Pharaonic wonders. A group of just 16 guests will travel under the leadership of an exceptional and engaging trio that has been receiving accolades for 20 years: Egyptologist Stephen Harvey, along with an expert local Egyptology guide and a professional tour manager. The highlights are many and varied: • Spend a full day discovering the…
Simon Martin is a political anthropologist and historian who serves as an Associate Curator at the Penn Museum and Adjunct Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a specialist in Maya hieroglyphic writing, with a particular interest in the history, politics, and religious beliefs of the Classic Period (A.D. 250-900). His most recent book, Ancient Maya Politics (Cambridge, 2020), won the AHA James Henry Breasted Prize for a work concerning history before…
April 14 @ 6:00 pm
Speaker: Denise M. Doxey, Norma Jean Calderwood Curator of Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Queen Khensa was a Nubian royal and principal wife of King Piankhy, the Kushite ruler (664–653 BCE) who conquered Egypt and established the Twenty-fifth Dynasty. She was buried in a pyramid tomb whose contents were largely plundered in antiquity. Even so, her burial still contained a variety of intriguing objects, from precious-metal vessels and…
October 9
Travel with us beyond classical Türkiye, with its monumental, Greco-Roman ruins and Aegean sea backdrops. Find more history–and prehistory–amid the beauty of southeastern Türkiye, on a route less traveled, between Tarsus, the birthplace of St. Paul, and Diyarbakır, set along the banks of the famous Tigris River that helped form the cradle of civilization. Along the way you will see the world’s earliest monumental temples, dating back over 10,000 years; explore excellent archaeological and mosaic…
February 25 @ 6:00 pm
Hybrid Lecture Monumental Ritual Texts in Ancient Egyptian Pyramids Wednesday, February 25, 6:00–7:00 pm ET, Advance registration recommended for online and in-person attendance Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA Speaker: Christelle Alvarez, Assistant Professor of Egyptology, Brown University The earliest large-scale records of ancient Egyptian religious literature come from Saqqara, an important royal cemetery from Egypt’s Old Kingdom period. For nearly two centuries, the subterranean chambers beneath some of Saqqara’s pyramids were inscribed…
October 22, 2025 @ 7:00 pm
Dr. Nicholas R. Brown, a postdoctoral fellow in Egyptology at Yale University and director of excavations at the ancient site of Deir el-Ballas, will explore what the archaeological record reveals about the state funeral in ancient Egypt. Dr. Brown will analyze the unique funeral procession scene depicted in the tomb's Burial Chamber and its connection to a funerary rite known as the “Awakening of Osiris.” This talk will show how these images and artifacts were…
7764 IL-96, Mozier, IL 62070, USA
This program is a four-week, intensive field school experience designed to provide students with job-ready skills to enter the workforce as archaeological field technicians at the Cultural Resource Management (CRM) industry. Students will learn key skills necessary for CRM jobs, including survey, surface collection, shovel testing, excavation, laboratory techniques, relevant laws, and reporting. Students will learn the entire process of CRM practices, from data collection to data reporting and mitigation. Practical field and laboratory activities…
Travel across Ireland to uncover the layers of its past, from the earliest hunter-gatherers to the great passage tomb builders and Iron Age kings. Guided by an esteemed Irish academic—who is both a geologist and an archaeologist—you will experience Ireland’s extraordinary landscapes and archaeological treasures in the company of leading experts, with the dedicated support of a professional tour manager.Highlights: Explore the Knockroe passage tomb, one of the most significant prehistoric sites in the country,…
September 16, 2025 @ 5:30 pm
Tuesday Sep. 16th, 5:30 - 6:30, JHU Homewood campus, Clark Hall Room 110 Alice Mandell lecture William Foxwell Albright Chair in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Department of Near Eastern Studies - Johns Hopkins University Canaanite Cuneiform Culture in the Amarna Age During the Amarna Age (the mid-14th century BCE), kings in the ancient Middle East corresponded with the Egyptian pharaoh. The largest group of cuneiform letters recovered from Tell el-'Amarna, Egypt are communications…
September 16, 2025 @ 5:30 pm
Alice Mandell lecture William Foxwell Albright Chair in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Department of Near Eastern Studies - Johns Hopkins University Canaanite Cuneiform Culture in the Amarna Age During the Amarna Age (the mid-14th century BCE), kings in the ancient Middle East corresponded with the Egyptian pharaoh. The largest group of cuneiform letters recovered from Tell el-'Amarna, Egypt are communications from Canaanite elites. While much of past scholarship has focused on the elites…
You are invited to return to Egypt to experience this 17-day, custom-designed itinerary in the engaging company of Egyptologist Stephen Harvey plus an expert local Egyptology guide and a professional tour manager. This trio has been receiving accolades for many years. Highlights are many and varied: Spend two full days visiting museums in Cairo (the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization and the historic Egyptian Museum) OR two full days exploring Giza’s Grand Egyptian Museum…
June 22, 2025 @ 3:00 pm
The American Research Center in Egypt, Northern California chapter, and the UC Berkeley Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures invite you to attend a Zoom lecture by Dr. Victoria Jensen, UC Berkeley: In the Shadow of the Palace: The non-elite community of Deir el-Ballas as revealed by the settlement remains and tombs Sunday, June 22, 2025, 3 PM PDT This virtual lecture will be recorded for later posting on the chapter's YouTube channel. Register…
This unique, 17-day itinerary is the perfect trip for those who wish to revisit Egypt and discover lesser-known but spectacular Pharaonic wonders. A group of just 16 guests will travel under the leadership of an exceptional and engaging trio that has been receiving accolades for 20 years: Egyptologist Stephen Harvey, along with an expert local Egyptology guide and a professional tour manager. “I really appreciated going in more depth, getting a ‘behind the scenes’ look…
April 23, 2025 @ 6:00 pm
Hana Navratilova, Fellow, Royal Historical Society, UK; Supernumerary Fellow, University of Oxford, Harris Manchester College Jaroslav Černý (1898–1970) was a distinguished Egyptologist known for his groundbreaking work on the social and cultural history of ancient Egypt, particularly the community of artisans at Deir el-Medina, a village near the Valley of the Kings. His research on ostraca (pottery sherds and limestone flakes bearing written inscriptions) and Theban “graffiti” texts is fundamental for understanding the daily lives,…
May 10, 2025 @ 3:30 pm
Saturday, May 10 3:30 pm EST Penn Museum, Classroom L2 In-person; no registration required Speaker: Dr. Antonio Morales, Associate Professor of Egyptology, University of Alcala Title: The cemeteries of Deir el-Bahari and Asasif in the early Middle Kingdom: Recent work by the University of Alcalá expedition to Luxor Abstract: The reunification achieved during the reign of king Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II signified the emergence of a pristine Egyptian state built upon a culture of traditions and…
Preservation Through Education is a remarkable project that combines preservation work with outreach that seeks to engage local communities in the long-term safeguarding of their cultural heritage. The project focuses on preserving the ancient city of Akhetaten (modern-day Amarna, Egypt), one of the best-preserved ancient settlements in Egypt. Over three years (2022-2024), Preservation Through Education aims to raise awareness of the urgent need to protect the settlement by engaging with residents and local stakeholders through community outreach…
March 26, 2025 @ 6:00 pm
Free Public Lecture – Online & In Person Margaret Geoga, Assistant Professor of Egyptology, The University of Chicago “The Teaching of Amenemhat” is the only ancient Egyptian literary work to describe the assassination of a king. Told from the perspective of the murdered Pharaoh Amenemhat I, the poem is remarkable for its grim subject matter and popularity in ancient Egypt and Nubia. While previous scholarship on “Amenemhat” has focused on the poem’s composition, Geoga’s lecture…
