burkhard backes

This year's Egyptological Colloquium was roundly regarded as a success, as eighteen top Egyptological minds converged on London's British Museum for two intense days of lectures, opinions and debate on the Book of the Dead. One of the most stunning pieces of Egyptian liturgy, yet a much maligned forum for study, the Colloquium promised some fascinating and truly groundbreaking discoveries on a visually engaging subject. Heritage Key took some time out at the end of the event to speak to a few audience members, and found a somewhat mixed response. Some were keen to stress their enjoyment of the colloquium, while others weren't so sure it held up to some of its more recent forebears.

I think my mind's had just enough time to recover from this year's two day-long Egyptological Colloquium. No less than 18 top experts lent their latest opinions and discoveries to the audience at the British Museum; more than enough for me to cope with. Though I'd like to think of myself as an avid fan of the ancient world, I could never for a second hope to pass myself off as a resident Book of the Dead buff - so there was plenty of new material for my mediocre mind to cope with. So, a good sleep and some brainless telly watching later, I've compiled a brief list of the ten most intriguing Book of the Dead facts and theories - for me - that really brought the complexity and importance of the beautiful text to life.

With complementary food and drinks slept off with a good night's sleep, the experts and attendees - and Heritage Key - poured back into the British Museum's BP Lecture Theatre for another day of Egyptological intrigue. But while others toiled on the tube and lost their way round the backstreets of Bloomsbury, I saw in the early hours with a lovely cup of coffee, eyes turned to Russell Square and all those losers rushing to their jobs. Wait, hold on a second - I'm at work today! Paper downed and latte (full-fat) gulped far too quickly, I made my way to the lecture hall, where I set up shop to watch the University of Bonn's much-respected Book of the Dead (BD) specialist Dr Irmtraut Munro enlighten us on the evidence of a master copy, transferred from Thebes to Memphis in the 26th Dynasty. Today's speeches all concern the BD in the Late Period and beyond, and to me at least seem more accessible than yesterday's presentations.