A lecture given by the Director of the Survey of Memphis, Dr David Jeffreys, at the Society's study day on 25 June 2011, is now available to view online:
The work of the Survey of Memphis has focussed recently on the early development of the city in the Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom periods. Geophysics, sediment coring and pilot excavation all seem to indicate a location in the Nile Valley east of the famous Saqqara mastaba field, but the shifting location of pyramid sites over time might also provide a clue. This talk tries to probe and analyse the distribution of pyramids, not only as individual funerary complexes but also as a reflection of the real capital settlement of Memphis. Can the pyramids themselves show us where the city was at that time?