Understanding Ancient Egyptian Wooden Coffins

17 November 2019 - 18 November 2019

09:00 AM - 04:00 PM

 A practical workshop on the examination, carpentry, and construction of coffins

The BA Antiquities Museum, affiliated with the Cultural Outreach Sector, in cooperation with the Fitzwilliam Museum at the University of Cambridge, UK, and the Museum Sector at the Ministry of Antiquities (represented by the Egyptian Museum in Cairo), organizes a workshop titled "Understanding Ancient Egyptian Wooden Coffins: A practical workshop on the examination, carpentry, and construction of coffins", on Sunday and Monday, 17 and 18 November 2019, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at the BACC Multipurpose Hall.

The workshop deals with experimental archaeology; a branch of archaeology that aims to propose or test archaeological hypotheses by rebuilding and creating wooden monuments (replicas) according to the resources available on ancient Egyptian civilization. Experimental archeology involves the use of several methods and techniques of analysis depending on the type of wooden antiquities discovered. The workshop introduces wooden coffins and how they were manufactured through a series of theoretical and practical lectures.

The workshop offers an opportunity for those studying ancient Egyptian wooden coffins to understand the processes involved in their manufacture. It includes sessions on the types of wood available to ancient Egyptians, their properties, and the different tools used by ancient carpenters, presenting the participants with the chance to try such tools. Other sessions show how to recognize the traces of each of these tools and give practical experience through looking at coffins within the displays of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and identifying different types of construction. In addition, the workshop discusses the techniques that can be used to examine coffins from a technological and Egyptological point of view.