Heritage Key enters the Petrie Museum in London to talk to the curator Dr Stephen Quirke, who explains the importance of one of the co-founders of the Egypt Exploration Society - Amelia Edwards. She was dedicated to protecting the Ancient Egyptian heritage from growing tourism by bringing artefacts to Britain, and creating a museum where students could learn from the discoveries. Named after its first professor, William Flinders Petrie, the museum was set up near the only university at the time which awarded degrees to women - the University College London.
Submitted by Sean Williams on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 12:30
There have been many great women in the times and study of Ancient Egypt - Hatshepsut and Nefertiti are two great examples. Yet in the era of discovery; the time in which great explorers pioneered the excavation of Egypt's greatest treasures, one woman sticks out louder than Liberace in a dole queue. Cue Amelia Edwards, a Victorian writer and adventurer who bucked the conservative traditions of her time to help found one of London's greatest museums.
Amenemhat III (also spelt Amenemhet III) was the sixth pharaoh of Egypt's 12th Dynasty, taking over from his father Senwosret III. Regarded as the Middle Kingdom's greatest king, he enjoyed a relatively long reign, ruling from 1860-1814, or 1842-1797 BC. This was enough time to create two of Egypt's best-known, if not durable, pyramids. Experts believe he may also have co-ruled with his father for up to 20 years.
Amenemhat was a peaceful ruler thanks to the military conquests of his predecessors, and would become known rather for his huge building works - not all of which ended successfully. Desperate to stamp his authority on an already-illustrious dynasty, Amenemhat began building a large pyramid at Dashur almost immediately. This 'Black Pyramid' took up to 15 years to complete, yet began to crumble on its completion.
Submitted by Sean Williams on Mon, 11/02/2009 - 09:55
Heritage Key loves the tales woven by the archives of the Egypt Exploration Society, as mentioned at their fundraising afternoon earlier this month. So much were we interested in the project, which aims to preserve and digitise the society's rich recorded history, that we decided to take a look for ourselves. Spread over three separate mews in a backstreet of central London, the only indicator you've reached EES HQ is a tiny plaque on the door and some obscured old relics in the window. Yet the minimal decoration and creeping vines embody an eccentricity of EES' earliest explorers, looking more like an artist's studio than an archaeological base.
Submitted by Sean Williams on Wed, 10/28/2009 - 16:42
Continuing Heritage Key's efforts to showcase Egyptology's amazing archives, we'll be travelling to London's Petrie Museum tomorrow to meet curator Stephen Quirke for a trip through the museum's memory lanes.
