Date: Friday, February 15, 2013, 6:30 p.m.

Chapter: Washington, D.C., sponsored by Craig and Carol Boyer

Presenter: Richard Jasnow, Johns Hopking University , Baltimore

Location: Benjamin T. Rome Auditorium of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, 1619 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC

Lecture is free and open to the public. Please come and bring a guest. Please register for this lecture on the ARCE-DC chapter web site.

Description: What did the Ancient Egyptians scribble?

For years Dr. Richard Jasnow and his wife Dr. Christina Di Cerbo, have been copying Graeco-Roman and Coptic graffiti inscribed on the walls of the Egyptian Temples of Karnak, Luxor, and Medinet Habu. They have conducted this research and documentation under the aegis of the Epigraphic Survey of the University of Chicago, where his wife works.

This graffiti is generally written in Demotic (a very cursive Egyptian script), hieratic, and hieroglyphs, but there are also many images of people and animals as well. This lecture will present some of the more interesting results in their hunt for such ancient graffiti.

About the Speaker: Dr. Richard Jasnow is a specialist in the Late Period of Egypt, with a particular interest in Demotic Egyptian, the cursive form of the Egyptian script employed from about 750 B.C. through 450 A.D. While he is principally engaged in the publication of Late Period Demotic literary texts, he has also worked on legal and economic documents.

Meet The Speaker Dinner: Following the lecture, we invite interested members and their friends to join us for dinner across the street at the Beacon Hill Bar & Grill (1615 Rhode Island Ave NW, WDC 20036). There will be a $5 speaker contribution for all attendees and you can order what you wish from their delicious menu. Seats are limited so if you would like to join us, please register on our new website before Thursday 2/14/13 to reserve your place.