Register for ARCE-NC Egyptology lecture November 15: NYU-Princeton North Abydos Expedition 2018-2020

The American Research Center in Egypt, Northern California Chapter, and the Near Eastern Studies Department, University of California, Berkeley, invite you to attend a virtual lecture by Dr. Deborah Vischak, Princeton University: The NYU-Princeton North Abydos Expedition 2018-2020 Seasons When: Sunday, November 15, 2020, 3 PM Pacific Time Zoom Lecture. A registration link is automatically sent to ARCE-NC members. Others may request a registration link by sending email with your name and email address to arcencZoom@gmail.com. Attendance is limited, so non-members, please send any registration requests by November 11. About the Lecture: North Abydos excavation. (Photo courtesy of Deborah Vischak) Beginning in 2018, the newly joint Princeton-NYU North Abydos Expedition undertook a major new research initiative at the northern edge of the concession, excavating a cemetery site that was used from the early Old Kingdom (c. 2600 BCE) through the New Kingdom. The first phase of the cemetery consists of mudbrick mastabas that represent the first evidence of building by the non-royal local community since Abydos had become the royal cemetery around 3000 BCE. The mastabas were built atop a brewery installation from the Early Dynastic period, most likely associated with the royal building activity elsewhere at the site. This new material represents rare examples from these time periods and will help to develop our understanding of the transition from the Early Dynastic period to the Old Kingdom in Abydos. The Expedition is also continuing work on the preservation of the Shunet el-Zebib, the only standing royal enclosure from the Early Dynastic Period, and a new conservation project focused on the Ramses II portal temple has recently begun. These projects are a crucially important part of the Expedition's work and will be considered within the long history of building, decay, and restoration over 5000 years at Abydos. About the Speaker: Dr. Deborah Vischak (Photo from Princeton University profile) Deborah Vischak is an Assistant Professor of ancient Egyptian Art and Archaeology in the Department of Art and Archaeology at Princeton University. Vischak works on a range of themes, mainly focusing on the 3rd millennium and questions of regional identities. She is the author of Community and Identity in Ancient Egypt: the Old Kingdom Cemetery at Qubbet el-Hawa. She teaches broadly on ancient Egyptian art history and archaeology from all periods, as well as archaeological methods and theory and comparative studies of ancient Near Eastern art. Vischak is co-director of the North Abydos Expedition.   About ARCE-NC: For more information, please visit http://arce-nc.org, https://facebook.com/NorthernCaliforniaARCE/, https://twitter.com/ARCENCPostings, or https://khentiamentiu.org. To join the chapter or renew your membership, please go to https://www.arce.org/become-arce-member and select "Berkeley, CA" as your chapter when you sign up.