The Friends of the Egypt Centre support the Egypt Centre and organise an exciting programme of ten monthly lectures per year (September to June). These events run separately from the Egypt Centre’s other online events such as fundraising lectures and courses, and are arranged to cater for all levels of understanding. You can choose to be a member of the Friends for an annual fee of as little as £10, or pay £3 per lecture (booking via Eventbrite).
2025–26 Programme
01 October 2025 (Hybrid lecture)
Made by the Market? An alternative history of Egyptology
By Tom Hardwick
Histories and displays of Pharaonic Egyptian objects still tend to focus on their discovery in Egypt, generally by ‘explorers’ or ‘archaeologists’, and elide their unearthing with their safe arrival in a museum, usually outside Egypt. Once in a museum, they are almost invariably called ‘priceless’, in spite of the fact that money – spent on purchasing, packing, shipping, publishing, and displaying the objects – has been an essential part of every aspect of their journey.
The market for ancient Egyptian objects was – and still remains – a rich ecosystem which merits serious attention. It encompasses individuals, rich and poor, businesses, large and small, and even governments. This lecture will explore the way the market for Egyptian antiquities has developed and demonstrate the changing roles it has played in creating a taste for ancient Egypt.
Tickets are available here.
22 October 2025 (Hybrid lecture)
Egypt under the Achaemenids and Alexander the Great
By Stephen Harrison (Swansea University)
In the sixth century, after hundreds of years of regional dominance, Egypt fell to foreign conquerors: first, the Persians; then, the Macedonians. What role would Egypt play within these new imperial systems? How far would Egypt’s new rulers engage with local traditions that had shaped Egyptian culture for millennia? This talk explores issues like these and situates the experiences of Egypt within the wider context of the period. Did Alexander the Great think of himself as a god? If so, was that because of Egyptian practices? What can Egyptian material like the testimony of Udjahorresnet tell us about how local elites navigate transfers of power – and how can this help us understand experiences far beyond Egypt itself?
Tickets are available here.
19 November 2025 (Hybrid lecture)
From Painted Chapels to Saint Cults at Abydos
By Christian Knoblauch (Swansea University)
This paper will explore the history of the Abydos Middle Cemetery during the Late Old Kingdom to Early Middle Kingdom, drawing on the results of the University of Michigan Middle Cemetery Project. We will examine how the ancient inhabitants of Abydos used art, architecture, landscape, and ritual to tie themselves into communities of the living and the dead, to express ancestry and relatedness, and to situate themselves in a fluctuating geo-political landscape in a period of far-reaching change.
Tickets are available here.
17 December 2025 (Hybrid lecture)
“Here I Am”: The Global Shabti Project
By Meg Gundlach
Shabtis are one of the most prolific and recognisable artefact types from ancient Egypt. For nearly 2000 years (c. 2000–30 BCE), shabtis were considered a burial necessity by the elite, and surviving numbers are minimally in the hundreds of thousands. These items are now found in every known public and private collection, with individual sets scattered across the globe. Very often, these are the only remaining attestations of ancient individuals, but they are frequently overlooked in scholarship due to their dispersal and haphazard cataloguing. Anyone wishing to study these objects must first virtually reunite sets, starting each inquiry from scratch.
The Global Shabti Project is a multi-phased undertaking to create a dynamic web-based hub to support and advance the study of Ancient Egyptian shabtis. This initial phase focused on the creation and development of the site, including several specialised search functions to facilitate research at all levels. This presentation will serve as the launch to the Global Shabti Project website, which will become an essential tool for shabti research.
Tickets are available here.
21 January 2026 (Online lecture)
How to meet the makers of ancient Egypt
By Helen Strudwick (Fitzwilliam Museum)
The underpinning research for the Fitzwilliam Museum’s exhibition “Made in Ancient Egypt” is based on two principles: looking below the surface and experimentation. For the first, we can use both physical exploration (using analytical methods to identify materials and structures) and we can also look beyond the finished surface to understand possible reasons for choices of material, changes of mind, etc. Experimentation allows us to test theories and to experience practical difficulties that need addressing in real time. This talk will highlight the methods available for investigating the methods of making objects, including microscopy, simple close looking, advanced imaging technologies, experimental archaeology and learning by observing contemporary practitioners and show how much we can learn from this about the people who made the objects we see in museum collections around the world.
Tickets are available here.
20 May 2026 (Hybrid lecture)
Conservation of artefacts from the Egypt Centre (2026 update)
Cardiff University conservation students
The Egypt Centre has a long-standing relationship with the conservation courses at Cardiff University, with students working on objects from the museum, gaining experience in conservation and helping preserve the collection. The talk will highlight the recent conservation work carried out on Egypt Centre objects.
Tickets are available here.
Membership
Membership includes free entry into all Friends lectures. To become a member, please complete and return an application form.
Full Membership = £16.50 per year
Full family membership (2 adults and 2 children) = £26 per year
Concessionary individual = £10 per year
Concessionary family = £16 per year
Life membership (individual) = £150
Life membership (family) = £250
Non-members are also welcome and can pay £3 per lecture.
Membership application form (Word)
Membership application form (PDF)
Inscriptions
The Friends produce a newsletter called Inscriptions. We welcome contributions, whether interesting chatty snippets, or scholarly. If you would like to write an article or have any news or information you want to contribute, please contact the Editor Mike MacDonagh (Mike_Mac_Donagh@msn.com).
View back issues of Inscriptions.
Friends Committee Members
Chair: Ken Griffin
Vice Chair: Gareth Lucas
Treasurer: Wendy Goodridge / Donna Thomas
Secretary: Carolyn Graves-Brown
Membership Secretary: Wendy Goodridge (w.r.goodridge@swansea.ac.uk)
Marketing: John Rogers
Events Officer: Ken Griffin
Other committee members: Sam Powell, Mollie Beck, Meg Gundlach, Christian Knoblauch
The committee is made up of people with an interest in ancient Egypt and museums. If you are interested in joining the committee, please speak to any committee member, send us a Facebook message, or email the museum at egyptcentre@swansea.ac.uk.