Date: Saturday, May 12, 2012 5:30 p.m.

Chapter: Portland, Oregon, in cooperation with the Middle East Studies Center of Portland State University

Presenter: Dr. Nigel Strudwick, Visiting Professor, University of Memphis

Location: Room 238, Smith Memorial Student Union, Portland State University

Free admission and open to the public. Free parking in PSU parking structures after 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays

Description: A slide-illustrated lecture on the story of the excavation of an 18th dynasty private tomb and the findings that reveal the life of the noble Senneferi and subsequent use of his tomb over the next 3000 years.

Senneferi’s career as an important official coincided with the middle to later reign of Thutmose III. Originally from the Delta, he was brought to Thebes to be in charge of the local administration and finances. His tomb on the West Bank has been rather neglected until the Cambridge Theban Tombs project began work on it in 1992. This lecture will look at the man himself, his family, and what his tomb tells us about the history of tomb use and reuse in Thebes.

In addition to the discovery of painted walls, beautiful ceilings, pottery, statues, papyri and textiles, Dr. Strudwick’s archeological fieldwork reveals how elite tombs were symbolically and physically designed. Visit Dr. Strudwick’s website to learn more: http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/tt99/

About the Speaker: Dr Nigel Strudwick obtained his Ph.D. at the Department of Egyptology at the University of Liverpool, England and a B.A. in Ancient Egyptian and Coptic, Keble College, Oxford, England. He is presently a visiting professor at the University of Memphis, where he teaches Egyptian language and art; previously he served many years as an Assistant Keeper, Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan, British Museum. He has written extensively on ancient Egypt, including scholarly works on Egyptian grammar and translations, as well as popular books such as Thebes in Egypt: A Guide to the Tombs and Temples of Ancient Luxor; Masterpieces of Ancient Egypt, which highlights the British Museum collection; and Hieroglyph Detective: How to Decode the Sacred Language of the Ancient Egyptians.