American Research Center in Egypt, New York Chapter

American Research Center in Egypt
New York Chapter

Upcoming Lectures:

The American Research Center in Egypt, New York Chapter (ARCE/NY) in
Association with the Salmagundi Club presents:

Sigmund Freud in ancient Egypt?

SPEAKER: Dr. Luigi Prada
REGISTRATION: Pre-register here. The ARCE Members Promo Code for a Free Ticket is:
EGYPT
DATE/ TIME: Tuesday, October 6, 2026, 6:00 P.M. EST.

ABSTRACT: In the ancient Mediterranean world, the Egyptians had a reputation for excelling in divination, the art of gaining knowledge about the future via occult channels. Many types of divination were practiced in ancient Egypt, primarily by temple priests who consulted specific handbooks for this purpose. One particularly popular technique was that of oneiromancy, that is, dream interpretation.

This talk will introduce the audience to new research on ancient Egyptian oneiromancy, discussing in detail the workings of the many dream interpretation manuals preserved on papyri and what light they shed on our knowledge of the ancient Egyptian mind. Special attention will be
devoted to what these unique texts can reveal about lesser-known aspects of ancient Egyptian social life and psychology—for example, on matters of sexuality and queerness amongst the
ancient Egyptians, as reflected in the analysis of their erotic dreams.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr Luigi Prada is Associate Professor of Egyptology at Uppsala University, Sweden. He works primarily on textual and cultural-historical studies, with a focus on the later phases of Egypt’s history and language(s) / scripts. Prior to Uppsala, he has held academic positions in the UK (Oxford and the British Academy), Germany (Heidelberg), and Denmark
(Copenhagen). He is active in the field, both in Egypt as Co-Director of the Oxford-Uppsala Epigraphic Project in El Kab, and in the Sudan.

He is constantly engaged in public outreach, through public lectures (most recently, on Egyptology and queer studies at Stockholm Pride) and as a consultant for international exhibitions (recently in the USA, the Getty exhibition ‘Beyond the Nile: Egypt and the Classical World’ in Los Angeles). He is an Honorary Research Associate in Egyptology at the Griffith Institute, University of Oxford. He has published extensively on a variety of topics, including ancient Egyptian dreams and divination, scribal education and schooling, graffiti and rock inscriptions, ancient translations (Graeco-Egyptian), obelisks, hieroglyphic inscriptions (from the Old Kingdom to the Roman Period), cursive scripts (hieratic and demotic), Coptic, ancient rudeness and insults.

The American Research Center in Egypt, New York Chapter (ARCE/NY) in
Association with the Salmagundi Club presents:

Deir el-Ballas and the dawn of the Egyptian empire

SPEAKER: Drs. Peter Lacovara and Nicholas R. Brown
REGISTRATION: Pre-register here. The ARCE Members Promo Code for a Free Ticket is:
EGYPT
DATE/ TIME: Friday, October 30, 2026, 6:00 P.M. EST.

ABSTRACT: Deir el-Ballas is probably one of the most important sites in Egyptian history and also one of the least well known. It was the forward capitol of the Theban kings during their drive to expel the Hyksos invaders in the north and reunite the land founding the glorious New Kingdom three thousand, five hundred years ago. Built by king Seqenenre Tao around 1550 B. C., it set the pattern for the later royal cities of the New Kingdom like Malqata and Tell el Amarna.

At its center is a monumental structure known as the North Palace that served as the campaign palace for the Kings Seqenenre, Kamose, and Ahmose in their wars against the Hyksos and Nubian kingdoms. Like the later royal cities, there was a series of houses, including large villas for the royal court, a workmen’s settlement with associated cult chapels, storage magazines, and cemeteries.

The site was first excavated by George Andrew Reisner working for the Hearst Expedition of the University of California, Berkeley in the years 1900-1901, but never published and was long forgotten.

Now Peter Lacovara and Nicholas Brown of the Ancient Egyptian Heritage and Archaeology fund are working to preserve and publish this pivotal spot in the story of Egypt.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

Peter Lacovara (B.A. 1976, Boston University; Ph.D. 1993 The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago) is the Director of The Ancient Egyptian Archaeology and Heritage Fund. He was Senior Curator of Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art at the Michael C. Carlos Museum from 1998 to 2014. Previously he served as Assistant Curator in the Department of Ancient Egyptian, Nubian and Near Eastern Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Currently, he is also Consulting Curator for the Egyptian Collection at the Albany Institute of History and Art and Visiting Research Scholar at the American University in Cairo.

His archaeological fieldwork has included excavations at the Valley of the Kings at Thebes, the Palace-City of Amenhotep III at Malqata in Western Thebes, Abydos, Hierakonpolis and at the Giza Plateau, and currently he is directing the survey and restoration of the site of Deir el-Ballas. His publications include studies on Daily Life and Urbanism in Ancient Egypt, Egyptian Mortuary Traditions, and the Material Culture of Ancient Egypt and Nubia.

Nicholas R. Brown did his undergraduate work at UC Santa Barbara, and later he earned his MA degree in Egyptology from the American University in Cairo in 2016, and his PhD degree from UCLA in 2024. He has extensive excavation experience in Aswan (at Elephantine Island and Wadi el-Hudi) as well as funerary sites in Luxor, Amarna, and in Sudan. He has also been co-directing the work at Deir el-Ballas and is Professor of Egyptology at Iowa State University.