Thames Valley Ancient Egypt Society

ON Saturday, April 17, Professor Stuart Tyson Smith gave a talk to the Thames Valley Ancient Egypt Society called “Egyptian or Nubian?”

He debunked 19th/early 20th century theories that ancient Egypt was a civilising influence on the barbarian Nubians south of their border with ideas, religion, practices, technologies and art travelling only one way from a cultured northern state into rougher southern tribal societies.

Using the long-period cemetery of Tombos located in the Sudan, he showed how there was an ongoing two-way “cultural entanglement”.

History tended to claim that the Dynasty 25 Nubian rule of Egypt was an aberration but archaeological evidence shows an ongoing close interchange between both Egypt and Nubia which made this acceptable, although traditional Egyptian literature always reiterated a fictional norm of Nubians as “the vile Kush”, enemies of the Pharaohs. Nubian culture did still retain its own individuality with, in some periods, a higher level of culture than Egypt.

The next lecture is on Saturday, May 8 on “The third intermediate period in Egypt”.

Non-members can register for any of the forthcoming Zoom events via our website, www.tvaes.org.uk, a few days before the event, if places are available.

Francesca Jones