Miriam Müller & Ben van den Bercken - Dutch Research and Excavations in the Eastern Nile Delta

This talk will be hosted on Thursday, 28 November 2024 at 6:00 pm.

On the periphery of the Egyptian empire, the Eastern Nile Delta presents a fruitful case study to explore borderland dynamics at the crossroads of different cultures. Throughout the ages the Eastern Nile Delta has among others witnessed a strong influence from the Near East and the Levant.

In this talk Miriam Müller will introduce the audience to this unique landscape and discuss her recently published research on daily life in this environment and specifically at the site of Tell el-Dab’a, ancient Avaris and capital of the Hyksos rulers, during part of the second millennium BC.

In a short addition to this talk Ben van den Bercken will present an overview of how Tell Ibrahim Awad, a key site during the fourth and third millennium BC in close vicinity to Tell el-Dab’a, played a role in the Allard Pierson presentation and reflect on the role of a university museum in excavations and related projects.

Both will explore Dutch archaeological activities in this area from the past and present plans for future excavation endeavors. If successful, these will aim to elucidate the period of the third millennium BC in order to explore the long-term developments in this region from the period of state formation and unification of the Delta and Nile Valley to becoming the center of power with the location of several capitals.

About the speaker

Miriam Müller is lecturer in Egyptian archaeology, art and material culture at Leiden University and the director of the Netherlands Institute for the Near East (NINO).
Ben van den Bercken is curator of the Ancient Egypt and Sudan Collection at the Allard Pierson, University of Amsterdam.

Attention!

The lecture starts at 6 pm. The number of seats is limited and we work on a first-come, first-served basis. We open our doors at 5:30 and close them at 6:15 or earlier in case the lecture room reaches its full capacity. This talk will not be recorded nor livestreamed.