How to Excavate an Ancient Egyptian Tomb

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Recommended age: 16+ years

It takes a village to uncover a village…

From the less than glamourous world of work permits, to the publication of an ancient Egyptian tomb, we explore how international teams of highly skilled specialists come together with local communities to help unearth the secrets of the past.

Whether it’s fixing the local sewage system or tracking satellites, this conversation with Macquarie University’s Dr Karin Sowada will interest everyone who has ever wanted to look behind the scenes and learn what it takes to excavate an Egyptian tomb – in this case Egypt’s oldest, non-royal funerary pyramid - from discovery to restoration.

Note: Ticket price does NOT include entry to Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs.

Dr Karin Sowada is Director of the Australian Centre for Egyptology at Macquarie University, where she also teaches archaeology. In a career spanning over 30 years, she has worked as a museum curator in Sydney and as an archaeologist at sites across the region, including Pella in Jordan, the Macquarie University Theban Tombs Project, and at Saqqara, Memphis, Abydos and Dendera for Australian and international missions.

In 2017, she was awarded a 4-year Australian Research Council Future Fellowship with the project Pyramids, power and the dynamics of states in crisis, examining Egypt’s role as a state actor in the eastern Mediterranean during the Pyramid Age of the third millennium BC. In other roles, Karin has also enjoyed an extensive career in community service, politics, and business.

Simon Marnie presents Weekends on ABC Radio Sydney and NSW, a diverse program that combines news, arts and lifestyle.

Simon has worked both behind the scenes and in front of the microphone as a producer or presenter for government, commercial and community radio. He has dabbled in television for ABC, SBS, on the Food Channel for LifestyleTV and recently as a Presenter on ABC TV’s Escape from The City.

For over 25 years Simon has enjoyed bringing the stories, the people and the news to audiences from his days at Triple J to now on ABC Radio Sydney.

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