The site of Abydos in southern Egypt is one of the richest archaeological landscapes in the world, a place of exquisitely carved temples, cemeteries spanning millennia, and townsites that give us access to the daily life of ancient Egyptians. Much of the long history of this site directly reflected the significance that ancient Egyptians themselves accorded to it because of its connection to Egypt’s earliest kings. It was Abydos that saw the burials of the people who came to rule all of Egypt in its first unification and where kingship was defined through the construction of the earliest monumental buildings in the Nile valley. When later pilgrims came to Abydos to dedicate stelae and take part in the mysteries of the god Osiris, it was this connection with ancestral kingship that they celebrated. The Institute of Fine Arts has been conducting excavations at Abydos for nearly three decades, with a particular focus on the temples built by the kings of the First and Second Dynasties. This lecture will present an overview of the landscape, history, and importance of Abydos overall, detail how IFA excavations have helped us understand this amazing site, and outline plans for future work. Please celebrate with us as we launch a new chapter in the IFA’s exploration of early Egypt.
Laurel Bestock is the Executive Director of Excavations at Abydos and a Visiting Research Professor at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. An alumna of the IFA’s PhD program, she has directed excavations both at Abydos and at the Middle Kingdom fortress site of Uronarti, Sudan. Her interests include the contexts and audiences for ancient art and architecture, the development of royal ideology, and the relationship between institutions and individuals in pharaonic Egypt. In addition to her role at the IFA she is an Associate Professor of Archaeology and Egyptology at Brown University.
*The program will be presented onsite at the James B. Duke House and live-streamed. Please note we have transitioned from Zoom to a new, web-based live-streaming platform for our events. You can now access our public programs directly through your browser. Kindly RSVP below to receive the link.
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