Beverley Miles is a doctoral candidate at MacQuarie University in Australia. She is doing her dissertation work on the human-dog relationship in ancient Egypt during the Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Periods.
She presented an update on her research at a November 2009 symposium, held in Toronto, by the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities (SSEA). She made the case that Egyptian workmen, at least in some cases, engaged in mouth to muzzle weaning of dogs.
She also holds a BancHist (Hons I), from Macquarie University, 2006 where her dissertation work was - What's in the Linen Cupboard? A Comparative Study of the Luxury Textile Industries of New Kingdom Egypt with Contemporary Mycenaean Greece.
I’m going to be filing more detailed blogs at the end, once I have the time to do a proper write-up of all the research.
For now here are some news-briefs that I want to fill you in on.
-The Seila Pyramid is flat! No – it is not a step pyramid. It is a true pyramid. Professor Kerry Muhlestein of Brigham Young University, presented the latest research.
A team of engineers, using GPS equipment, completed a 3D model of the pyramid recently. Combined with (unpublished) excavation results it is now clear that it is not a step-pyramid.
Toronto is a good place to be for Egyptian lovers this month.
While the weather in Toronto isn’t exactly like Cairo (snowfall is common during November), there is going to be lots of important Egyptian activities happening.
Dr. Kei Yamamoto earned his PhD from the University of Toronto in 2009. As part of his doctoral dissertation he conducted excavations, at Abydos, on three Middle Kingdom chapels that were constructed by private citizens (as opposed to royalty).
The chapels are located in an area known at the “Terrace of the Great God.” During the Middle Kingdom this place was just in front of a temple to Osiris. Numerous private chapels were built there.
He is raising funds to continue work on the terrace.
Dr. Yamamoto also holds a MA from the University of Toronto, again focusing on the Ancient Near East, and a Hon. BA from the University of Pennsylvania in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.
Presently he is a researcher at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto Canada where he analyes artefacts, from the museum’s collection, which are from Abydos. He is also Vice-President of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities (SSEA).
The society is a Toronto based, non-profit organization dedicated to supporting educational and research efforts in the study of Egypt.
He has taught as an Instructor at the University of Toronto and Royal Ontario Museum. He also teaches a course in Middle Kingdom art that is offered by the SSEA.
The Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities, and the 
