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Ancient Egyptian archaeological site is topic of UWL talk

Posted 10:21 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015

“Baboon burial” from an archaelogical dig at Hierakonpolis.
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“Baboon burial” from an archaelogical dig at Hierakonpolis. Read more →

A renowned scholar of early Egyptian civilization will speak at UW-La Crosse about one of the most important archaeological sites along the Nile River.

A renowned scholar of early Egyptian civilization will speak at UW-La Crosse about one of the most important archaeological sites along the Nile River. [caption id="attachment_44083" align="alignleft" width="176"]Renee Friedman Renee Friedman[/caption] Renée Friedman, the Heagy Research Curator of Early Egypt at the British Museum, will speak on “The City of the Falcon: Egypt’s First Capital and Royal Cemetery at Hierakonpolis” at 7 p.m.Wednesday, Oct. 21, in Hesprich Auditorium, Graff Main Hall. Admission to the Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center talk is free. [caption id="attachment_44086" align="alignright" width="150"]ivory comb "Ivory comb," archaeological finding at Hierakonpolis.[/caption] Hierakonpolis is famous as the origins of the Narmer Palette recording the unification of Egypt at the beginning of the First Dynasty, 3100 B.C. Five hundred years earlier, this site was one of the largest urban centers along the Nile. On-going excavations are revealing tombs of regional kings who expressed their power in the size of their graves, along with carefully buried exotic wild animals. The site provides a glimpse behind the artistic symbols of power from the era. [caption id="attachment_44087" align="alignleft" width="150"]MASK "Mask," archaeological finding at Hierakonpolis.[/caption] In March 2014 the discovery of a nearly intact tomb provided a look at rituals that surrounded burials of Egypt’s early rulers. Evidence of restoration of this tomb’s structure during the First Dynasty indicates the continued memory of, and respect paid to, the early Predynastic rulers some 500 or even 1,000 years later. Friedman, a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, in Egyptian Archaeology, has worked at many sites throughout Egypt since 1980. She joined the team working at Hierakonpolis in 1983 and went on to become the director of the Hierakonpolis Expedition in 1996, and has carried out excavations every season since, discovering breweries, temples and the elite cemetery. She has authored many scholarly and popular articles on Hierakonpolis. For more information, visit http://mvac.uwlax.edu or contact MVAC at 608.785.8454. If you go— Who: Renée Friedman What: Lecture “The City of the Falcon: Egypt’s First Capital and Royal Cemetery at Hierakonpolis” When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21 Where: Hesprich Auditorium, Graff Main Hall Admission: Free

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