Symposium Demystifies Death Along the Nile

37th Annual SSEA Symposium takes place November 5, 2011

For the 37th year running, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities (SSEA) once again team up to present a fascinating day of papers on the latest discoveries from Egypt. This year's theme is Death Along the Nile: Uncovering the Secrets of Egypt’s Lost Tombs. Focusing on the latest developments surrounding tombs, cemeteries and their inhabitants, the lectures will provide a truly exciting look at the process of archaeological discovery, and what excavations can teach us about life and afterlife in ancient Egypt. Presentations take place on Saturday, November 5, 2011 from 9 am to 5 pm at University of Toronto’s Earth Sciences Centre, located at 5 Bancroft Place, Room 1050. Cost for the SSEA 37th Annual Symposium is $90 for the public; SSEA or ROM Members pay $80; Students with valid ID pay $40. For more information on the lectures or to register online visit www.rom.on.ca/programs/lectures/index.

The Symposium hosts a panel of internationally renowned scholars to skillfully highlight aspects of pharaonic culture and history. Speakers include: Dr. Nicholas Reeves (Metropolitan Museum of Art), presenting his theory on the original owners of objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun; Dr. Kerry Muhlestein (Brigham Young University), on excavations at Seila in the Fayum, which revealed a lost pyramid of Snefru and what may be the largest cemetery ever uncovered in Egypt; Prof. Suzanne Onstine (University of Memphis), who is working in the tomb of the noble Panehsy at Thebes; Heather McCarthy (New York University) on the Valley of the Queens; Edwin C. Brock, (Research Associate of the ROM) who lives in Egypt, and has spent several decades researching the royal sarcophagi in the Valley of the Kings, speaking on the history of the Valley of the Kings; Prof. Juan Castillos (Uruguayan Institute of Egyptology) on the predynastic cemeteries of Egypt; and Dr. Peter Sheldrick (the Dakhleh Oasis Project), who will present on his work with human remains from Dakhleh Oasis.

This event will take place in conjunction with two days of FREE scholarly presentations given by professional Egyptologists and scholars presenting their most recent work examining numerous aspects of ancient Egypt, including daily life, culture, religion, and archaeology. These presentations will take place in the ROM’s Signy & Cléophée Eaton Theatre, Level 1B, on Friday, November 4, 2011 from 9 am to 5 pm and on Sunday, November 6, 2011 from 1 to 5 pm in Room 1050 at University of Toronto’s Earth Sciences Centre, located at 5 Bancroft Place. Papers presented are not restricted to the topic of the Symposium.

Those attending the presentations at the ROM on November 4, 2011 should enter through the President’s Choice School Entrance, at the south end of the ROM’s heritage building. Attendance does not include Museum Admission.

SSEA Media Contact: Mark Trumpour, 647.520.4339 or trumpoma@msn.com