ARCE-PA Lecture
The Serapeum & Cattle Mummies
Penn Museum, Classroom L2
Saturday, Apr. 13, 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm ET
ARCE Members Free | $15 General | $10 Museum Members, Faculty & Staff | $7 Students | 12 & Under Free
The American Research Center in Egypt, Pennsylvania Chapter, aims to educate the citizens of Pennsylvania and the greater Philadelphia region about the culture and history of Egypt from the ancient through Islamic Periods. Join us for this doubleheader event with two speakers: Dr. Aidan Dodson and Dr. Salima Ikram.
The Serapeum at Saqqara
Dr. Aidan Dodson
Explore the history of the catacombs of the sacred Apis bull at Saqqara. Trace its story from the first known burial under Amenhotep III to the end of the employment of the complex following the demise of Cleopatra VII.
Moo-ving Along: Cattle Mummies from Ancient Egypt
Dr. Salima Ikram
Cattle have been central to many cultures over the millennia, including ancient Egypt. On a practical level they provide food, clothing, shelter, tools, jewelry, and a measurement of wealth. On a sacred level, they are the focus of cultic activity, with many deities, both female and male, manifesting as cows and bulls. This lecture touches on the main cattle cults of ancient Egypt and then presents different types of cattle mummies, as well as their purpose, mummification process, and histories.
Light refreshments at 1:00 and 2:45 pm.
About the Speakers
Aidan Dodson, Ph.D., is honorary Professor of Egyptology at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, where he has taught for over 25 years. He studied at Durham, Liverpool, and Cambridge Universities, and was Simpson Professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo for the spring of 2013, and Chairman of the Egypt Exploration Society from 2011 to 2016. He is the author of some 30 books, most recently The Nubian Pharaohs of Egypt (American University in Cairo Press, 2023).
Salima Ikram, Ph.D., is Distinguished University Professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo and Professor Extraordinary at Stellenbosch University. She studied at Bryn Mawr College and Cambridge University. She has worked throughout Egypt, and has directed the North Kharga Darb Ain Amur Survey, the Amenmesses Project KV10-KV63, and the Egyptian Museum Animal Mummy Project. She has published extensively for both scholars and the general public.