pastevents 2011

A.G.M. and Members’ Talks – January 2011

After the brief, but important AGM which was well attended, members were treated to three very different but enjoyable talks.

Chris and Pat Hall started things off with a look at why the Ancient Egyptians set their pole star as Thuban and not the star we use today.

Chris who is a keen astronomer used a computer package to show us the starry night sky as we would see it nowadays with all the stars and constellations revolving around Polaris.

Using the pointer stars of the Plough or Ursa Major/Great Bear we find the North Pole which is actually part of Ursa Minor/Little Bear.

A star that to us is a bit off to the side in the constellation of Draco is Thuban or Alpha Draconis which was used by the Egyptians to orientate their building plans. Chris then took us back to more than two thousand years B.C. and sure enough, as we went through a night sky that the ancient Egyptians would have recognised, all the stars and constellations revolved around Thuban in the constellation of Draconis.

Apparently it’s all down to procession. Thankfully Chris was able to explain about the tilt of the earth’s axis and cycles lasting 26,000 years causing the gradual change to how our night sky looks to us.

So was good his delivery that oblate spheroids and spinning Koosh balls all made sense! The night sky was important to the ancient Egyptians and still delights so many and thanks to Chris gave us a fascinating look at the night sky familiar to the civilisation yet still intrigues us today.

As a bonus Pat showed us excellent photos of the Tutankhamun Replica Exhibition on at Manchester. The slides showed how good the replicas are and gave an insight into the exhibition for members, especially as the Society is planning a trip there in February.

The second talk was about “Why visit Turin?” and a report on the trip by members of the society to visit the famous Egyptian museum in October 2010. There should always be a health warning when a scribe
is allowed to speak but Keith, who had been anticipating a city like Naples, was able to show what a lovely place it was!

With the Alps as a backdrop and reputedly the “Second most important Egyptian museum in the world” the city was a delight to visit especially with the good company of society members.

Museo Egizio di Torino, founded in 1824, really does have a wealth of truly exquisite items befitting the fact that the Drovetti collection was the first serious group of items to leave Egypt and not only because of the number but also the sheer completeness of the objects.

The Turin Royal King’s list, written by a scribe in the 19th Dynasty, is well known for its importance in trying to work out dynasties and names of pharaohs. The intact tomb of Kha and his wife Merit meant
so many everyday objects survived. The painted linen found at Gebelein is the oldest known.

Champollion visited Turin just as the collection was being unpacked and used the extensive papyri and its three books of the dead in his work to decipher hieroglyphs. Members were suitably warned about the
erotic papyri and the famous representation of the dancer bending over backwards to entertain!

The iconic statue of Ramesses II is considered one of the world’s most important work of Egyptian art yet just one of so many. The gallery of kings due to sheer number and being artistically displayed was truly
awe inspiring.

A visit to this fine Italian city wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the Mole Antonelliana, Turin's distinctive building. There are UNESCO World Heritage palaces –Palazzo Reale di Torino and Palazzo
Madamma- and the Museum of the Mountains.

There was a brief look at the esoteric Turin with its myths and legends with suggestions why Dan Brown might use the city for a new novel. Of course there's the Turin Shroud and while the actual shroud is not
on display the cathedral, which houses it in its fireproof container, is worth a visit. Also fascinating was its unique solar clock designed by Leonardo Da Vinci on its outside which had zodiac and pagan symbols which can are only visible when the light shines at a certain time.

The museum of the Shroud is also worth a visit to see a life size and accurate representation of the shroud and its history to form your own opinion. Outside the Cathedral are a medieval mosaic “Wheel of
Fortune” and the Palllantine Towers one, of the four gates into the city in Roman times and once the temporary residence of Pontius Pilot.

So “Why visit Turin?” well Champollion famously wrote “The road to Memphis and Thebes passes through Turin” and after Cairo it is the next most important museum for Ancient Egyptian items in the world!

Geoff Blick concluded the evening with a look at “The Highs and Lows of Ancient Egypt in the Movies”. We learnt about the earliest films with an Egyptian context. We had some knowledgeable members who spotted famous film stars of the past and there have been an interesting number of stars who seemed to have gone onto Oscar nominated roles after appearing in these films.

It was the highs and lows of Ancient Egypt and it’s fair to say that a lot aren’t exactly representative of the Ancient Egypt archaeologist have discovered but thoroughly entertaining. Amazingly quite a lot of
the really old movies are available on line! Having been reminded of Abbott and Costello’s brush with mummies I will look out for it if it’s repeated on TV sometime. It was fun watching clips of some of these
movies.

Geoff, with his delightful knowledge and interest in music and movies, made it an extremely fun end to a constructive evening.

Bryan when chairing the AGM had mentioned how the society continues to attract high quality speakers who enjoy coming to our friendly yet informative society but it is always nice to give our members a
chance to pass on, talk about or show interesting views on thing Egyptian.

Above all the society is bubbling along quite nicely- long may it continue.

Keith Aldritt
Society Scribe