This summer we are delighted to be supporting the Council for British Archaeology’s 2015 Festival of Archaeology by running a pop-up exhibition at our London office. Excavating Egypt will showcase the Society’s long history of exploration in the Nile valley and the characters involved in that work since 1882. Through a number of dynamic and engaging events, we aim to give people of all ages a chance to experience the reality of life on a dig in Egypt and to practise their skills as an Egyptologist, answering such questions as: What was it really like to uncover the tombs of the very first Egyptian pharaohs? How did a teenage Howard Carter cope in the desert for six months with only one or two others for company and no creature comforts? How did the most wonderful objects come to be uncovered and then make their way into the museums of the world?
This is a chance to open up access to archival material – usually only available to researchers by appointment – in a way that recreates life on an excavation in Egypt during the 20th century. Displays will include field notebooks, Petrie’s historic photographs of Tanis, object card records from the ancient city of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, antique archaeological equipment, watercolours painted by a young Howard Carter, letters written by Society founder Amelia Edwards, and much more. This is a unique opportunity to experience one of the world’s leading Egyptological archives and we look forward to welcoming all explorers at Doughty Mews.
Further details and event listings are available via: www.excavatingegypt.wordpress.com