The Egypt Centre's 25th Anniversary 

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9:15 Webinar starts

 9:30–9:45 Welcome address

9:45–11:15 The Evolution of the Egypt Centre

Carolyn Graves-Brown (Former Egypt Centre Curator) - At last! Hopes, imaginations, and dreams come true

Syd Howells (Egypt Centre Volunteer Manager) - Egypt Centre volunteers: a history 1998 1997–2023

Dulcie Engel (Egypt Centre volunteer) - My volunteering journey

Wendy Goodridge (Egypt Centre Museum Manager) - Let the battle commence!: breaking barriers to museum learning

11:15–11:30 Break

11:30–12:45 Collectors & Collections

Meg Gundlach (Egypt Centre Collections Access Manager) - The Hood legacy: Swansea by chance, Swansea by choice

Sam Powell (Egypt Centre volunteer and Abaset Director) - Abaset Collections: restoring ma’at to the Egypt Centre Online Collection

Anna Garnett (Petrie Museum Curator) - To Malet Place and beyond: The Petrie Museum’s role in the distribution of the Wellcome collection

12:45–14:00 Lunch break

14:00–15:10 The Egypt Centre & Swansea University

Christian Knoblauch (Lecturer, Swansea University) - Teaching in the collection: object-centred learning at Swansea University

Ersin Hussein (Lecturer, Swansea University) - Community perspectives: understanding and voicing Cypriot heritage in Wales

Jess Evans (Swansea University student) - My student experience at the Egypt Centre

15:10–15:25 Break

15:25–16:35 Conservation & Innovation

Phil Parkes (Reader in Conservation, Cardiff University) - Shared history: conservation of Egypt Centre objects at Cardiff University

Courtney Lyons (Cardiff University conservation student) - Perspective of a conservation student: treatment of EC168, a Soter-style shroud

Noura Seada (Assistant Lecturer at October 6 University, Cairo) - Online engagement at the Egypt Centre: a view from Egypt

16:35–16:45 Break

16:45–17:45 Keynote

Ken Griffin (Egypt Centre Curator) - Rediscovering Egypt: the Harrogate collection in Swansea

17:45–18:00 Summary and close

The Egypt Centre's 25th Anniversary 

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Carolyn Graves-Brown (Former Egypt Centre Curator) - At last! Hopes, imaginations, and dreams come true

I want to share with you a few of the things that as Curator of the Egypt Centre, way back in the 1990s, I dreamed we could do. I won’t dwell on failures, but rather successes. In particular, some of the things I really hoped we could do which were considered strange, or downright mad at the time, and which now are very much mainstream. I shall include our hands-on-objects ethos, digital visions, and aims for inclusivity. I would like to thank the ‘Egypt Centre family’ for making such possible and Swansea University for allowing dreams to come true.

Syd Howells (Egypt Centre Volunteer Manager) - Egypt Centre volunteers: a history 1998 1997–2023

A look at the origins of the Egypt Centre Volunteers, exploring some of the many highlights of their activities. From the very beginning of the museum, and indeed before its physical creation, the importance of involving volunteers was recognised to ensure the success of the Egypt Centre. The volunteers are the public face of the museum, and they guide visitors around the collection and demonstrate public activities such as the eternally popular mummification and the material handling board, where visitors can handle genuine ancient Egyptian artefacts, bringing the culture back to life in their imagination. Without them the story of the Egypt Centre would be a far shorter read.

Dulcie Engel (Egypt Centre volunteer) - My volunteering journey

A summary of the highlights of my nine years as volunteer at the Egypt Centre: from leading gallery tours to curating a case; newsletter editing to researching; transcribing to giving talks. Writing about all things ancient Egyptian to mummifying in French!

Wendy Goodridge (Egypt Centre Museum Manager) - Let the battle commence!: breaking barriers to museum learning

Since the museum opened its doors in 1998, it aimed to be as inclusive as possible and to create a positive learning environment through innovative hands on and museum led activities. This short presentation discusses the development of the learning programme offer to schools and the public and the barriers to museum learning that have been identified.

Meg Gundlach (Egypt Centre Collections Access Manager) - The Hood legacy: Swansea by chance, Swansea by choice

Stories of object movement and acquisition are woven through all museums housing the former Wellcome collection. One such tale surrounds the Victorian collection of the Reverend William Frankland Hood (1824–1864), from which almost one hundred items found their way to the Egypt Centre. That is a story of chance. Nearly a century later, another 100+ items found their way to Swansea directly from Reverend Hood’s descendants. That is a story of choice. This talk will outline the particular series of events from 1851 to 2023, illustrated through objects new and old.

Sam Powell (Egypt Centre volunteer and Abaset Director) - Abaset Collections: restoring ma’at to the Egypt Centre Online Collection

The idea for a new online catalogue for the Egypt Centre arose in 2019. Sam Powell, a volunteer at the museum and Egyptology student, spotted the potential for a more flexible and dynamic way of the accessing the collection virtually during her own research. The Egypt Centre’s previous online catalogue had been created in 2005 and provided limited information on each object.

            Working closely with museum staff, Sam designed a new online catalogue to better meet the changing needs of the diverse audience the museum caters to. This need for virtual access became greater than anticipated due to the temporary closure of the museum to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic as the primary means of access to the objects. As a result, the launch of the new Online Collection was accelerated to October 2020 rather than its scheduled March 2021 launch.

            This presentation will celebrate the ongoing successes of the Egypt Centre Online Collection, highlighting the impact of the many features designed specifically for this collection to improve accessibility and virtual engagement with the objects for a range of audiences including researchers and the general public from around the world. It will also include a sneak preview of the new Harrogate Online Collection, which will be launched as part of this event.

Anna Garnett (Petrie Museum Curator) - To Malet Place and beyond: The Petrie Museum’s role in the distribution of the Wellcome collection

The staff of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology, UCL, played a pivotal role in the documentation and distribution of the Wellcome Collection’s Egyptian and Sudanese material in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1964, 350 packing crates full of thousands of objects were transferred to UCL where they were assessed, painstakingly documented, and distributed to museums across the UK. In this paper I will present the background to the Wellcome Collection distribution, to some of the characters involved in this work, and to recent research on the collection and archives.

Christian Knoblauch (Lecturer, Swansea University) - Teaching in the collection: object-centred learning at Swansea University

Evidence-based studies demonstrate that engaging all the senses in object centred learning (OCL) heightens student engagement, provides memorable learning experiences, encourages lifelong learning and enhances appetite for further study or employment. This paper describes and critically analyses the OCL that is employed in two second year Egyptology modules, and an extra-curricular project at Swansea University. I consider from my own experience the challenges of implementing best practice in OCL in a UK HE context. These include challenges encountered at module level (e.g., embedding OCL in course design and lesson planning), at a curriculum-level as well as at an institutional-level (e.g. access to collections, staffing, and crossing administrative/faculty boundaries). The paper concludes that while there are clear benefits to the current offer of OCL design as measured by student attendance, performance, module evaluation and post-graduate study choices, certain areas, for example, opportunities for skills progression and embedding OCL in degree schemes require further refinement.

Ersin Hussein (Lecturer, Swansea University) - Community perspectives: understanding and voicing Cypriot heritage in Wales

In 2020 The Egypt Centre launched a new display – Egypt and its Neighbours. The rationale was to showcase non-Egyptological artefacts (from Cyprus, Nubia, The Near East, Greece, and Rome); explore further identity-formation in antiquity; and exhibit pieces in the collection that had not been displayed before. The need for this was evident from audience surveys and public opinion drove its design. Funding for the initiative was awarded by the Institute of Classical Studies. This paper will focus on Cypriot artefacts in this new exhibit and the development of their associated physical and digital learning resources (e.g., object handling, 3D scans, and representing the history of Cyprus). It will discuss challenges surrounding decolonising the museum, engaging with the wider public to co-create resources, and developing materials that allow visitors to explore the history of Cypriot artefacts in the Swansea context.  

Jess Evans (Swansea University student) - My student experience at the Egypt Centre

The Egypt Centre offers invaluable support to students studying the ancient world. Over the course of the first two years of my degree, I have been lucky enough to participate in a range of exciting projects and opportunities that have enhanced my student experience. This presentation will present a brief highlight of some of these.

Phil Parkes (Reader in Conservation, Cardiff University) - Shared history: conservation of Egypt Centre objects at Cardiff University

There has been close collaboration between the Egypt Centre (formerly Swansea Wellcome Collection) and Cardiff University since 1978 when objects were first sent to the Conservation course at Cardiff University for conservation. Over the years many of the objects that form part of the Egypt Centre collection have been analysed and conserved, both as student projects and as part of the commercial service operated by Cardiff University. A brief history of this collaboration and highlights of the work are presented here.

Courtney Lyons (Cardiff University conservation student) - Perspective of a conservation student: treatment of EC168, a Soter-style shroud

A second year MSc Conservation Practice student at Cardiff University, Courtney Lyons discusses the treatment decisions and processes of a Soter-style shroud known as EC168. From what was believed to be crumpled stained fragments of a painted linen shroud follow a journey of conservation treatments uncovering information and significance, dissociation of fragments in the collection being reunited using the Egypt Centre’s Abaset database and scientific analysis revealing a link to the past as well as skilled craftmanship and artistry.

Noura Seada (Assistant Lecturer at October 6 University, Cairo) - Online engagement at the Egypt Centre: a view from Egypt

As a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Egypt Centre had to look at new ways of engaging with their audiences. The introduction of Zoom allowed the museum to engage with new global audience. This brief presentation will highlight the impact that the Egypt Centre’s online engagement from an Egyptian perspective. This includes online courses, access to the online catalogue, and the use of Arabic for trails and blog posts.

Ken Griffin (Egypt Centre Curator) - Rediscovering Egypt: the Harrogate collection in Swansea

In February 2023, 800 objects arrived at the Egypt Centre from Harrogate Museum, where they will remain on loan for three years. During this time, the collection will be researched, displayed, and presented online, thus making the objects more accessible to Egyptologists and the wider public. Most of the objects were donated by two local Harrogate collectors, Benjamin Kent (1884–1968) and James Roberts Ogden (1866–1940), who had assembled their collections in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Many of the objects, particularly those from Kent, were purchased at auction, which is similar to how the Egypt Centre collection was formed. In fact, objects from Kent’s collection are known to have come from the auctions of Robert de Rustafjaell (1859–1943), Henry Martyn Kennard (1833–1911), Frederick George Hilton Price (1842–1909), Field Marshal Francis Wallace Grenfell (1841–1925), and others. These collectors are all known from material housed in the Egypt Centre, thus providing an excellent link between both collections. The Harrogate loan project has been called “Rediscovering Egypt”, with the aim to study both the objects and the collectors—how did Ogden and Kent acquire their objects and why? This talk will present a brief overview of the project, including some of the stories unveiled so far. It was also introduce the Egypt Centre’s first temporary exhibition of the Harrogate material, which will be launched at the conclusion of this talk. Causing Their Names to Live, a title that takes inspiration from a common vivification formula found on statues, stelae, and other objects, presents thirty objects in which the names of the ancient Egyptians have been revealed since arriving in Swansea.