Saturday Lecture Series: The Afterlife of Ramses II's Tomb

Listen to Professor Malcolm Choat as he takes us on a journey through time to explore how the “afterlife” of the tomb of Ramses II - and the Theban Necropolis - teaches us as much about Ancient Egypt as the New Kingdom does.

Tomb KV7 had a life that extended beyond a pharaonic burial chamber. Ancient tourists inscribed their names and impressions on its walls, Christian monks made their homes there and transformed the necropolis into a holy city. A thousand years later, a new wave of tourists from Europe began recording their impressions of Egypt.

In this captivating lecture, hosted by the Australian Museum’s Chief Experience Officer Russell Briggs, learn what happened in the years between the interment of the great Pharaoh in the 18th Dynasty, and the contemporary excavation of the tomb in the 19th Century.

Recorded live at the Australian Museum on 25 November 2023, as part of the Gateway to Egypt program series, created to support Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs exhibition.

Malcolm Choat is Professor of History and Head of Department of History and Archaeology in the Faculty of Arts at Macquarie University. His current research interests centre on discourses of authenticity, debates over cultural heritage, and the reception of the ancient world. He is interested in the way the ancient world is experienced today, and our interactions with the nations and peoples whose pasts we study. His research also focuses on early Christianity, monasticism, scribal practice, and magic in Roman and Late antique Egypt, which he studies via Greek and Coptic papyri, especially documentary papyri from these periods.

Russell Briggs is Chief Experience Officer at the Australian Museum (AM), beginning his tenure in September 2017. Russell leads the team responsible for permanent, temporary and touring exhibitions; education; public programs; visitor experience, front of house, and volunteers; digital; climate change; the Museum archives and library, and the extensive world collections held by the Museum.

Macquarie University is a Program Partner for the Australian Museum’s Gateway to Egypt program, part of the Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs exhibition.