Gazing in awe at the pyramids and monuments of Ancient Egypt, so many questions came to mind:
* From where and what did this incredible empire spring?
* How and why were such unique and enormous monuments built?
* How did they develop the technical skills so many thousands of years ago?
* What were the origins of their wealth that made it possible?
* How did the kings become so powerful, and their power last so long?
In looking for answers, I was amazed by what I discovered, and much of it informs this presentation: ‘From Nomads to Nation – The Settling of the Nile Valley’:
To simplify the very complex, 3000 year-long empire I have started with the pre-dynastic history of Ancient Egypt – the time before the pharaohs.
I begin by looking at the landscape and geography of the early settlers; the reasons for the movement of the nomadic people down off the Savannah and the settling in the Nile Valley.
The talk investigates the many unique and unusual factors, and the artistic and creative skills that were the backdrop to the development of the ancient culture. Their theology and gods of the early Egyptians are discussed as their motivation and inspiration for their later pyramids and funerary monuments.
We look at the importance of the Nile; and the Nile’s annual inundation of their land, which created their abundant fertility; and their profusion of natural resources – all of which helped generate their fabled and fabulous wealth.
We cover the unification of Ancient Egypt – ‘The Two Lands’; a unification which created the world’s first nation state and the beginning of pharaonic rule, which set the stage and control that made possible, nearly 5000 years ago, the incredible feat, of The Age of the Pyramids…
Unearthing Egyptology - Talks on Egyptology 