Certificate of Completion
At the end of this course you will be able to download a personalised certificate of completion from the classroom. A great way to keep track of your learning and celebrate your Egyptological journey.
Elephantine & Aswan: Life at Egypt’s Southern Edge
with Dr Steven P. Harvey
4 lectures delivered over 2 afternoons. Sunday 7th & 14th September 2025
1.30 - 5.30 pm UK time
We love to see you for the live lectures, but if you have to miss one, don't worry, you can of course catch up (or watch again) at your leisure via the recordings. You will have access to the recorded lectures for a whole month after the last live lecture. Recordings will be available until 14th October.
What was it like to live at Egypt’s southern frontier—a place where pharaohs, priests, Nubians, and traders shaped daily life? Elephantine & Aswan: Life at Egypt’s Southern Edge takes you to one of the most archaeologically rich and historically layered landscapes in the Nile Valley. Situated at the First Cataract, Elephantine Island served as a strategic border post, religious centre, and multicultural settlement for over five millennia. Among its many surprises are the remains of an Old Kingdom pyramid, an evolving series of temple complexes, and the remarkable saint’s cult of a local official named Heqaib, who was venerated as a god long after his death.
At the heart of this course is the extraordinary sequence of stratified archaeological remains—documenting continuous occupation from Prehistory through the Islamic period—that have been meticulously excavated, studied, and published by German and Swiss archaeologists for over five decades. These long-term efforts have revealed not just architecture and material culture, but the rhythms of life at a dynamic borderland. We’ll also examine earlier finds such as the Aramaic papyri of a Jewish community stationed on the island in the Persian period—one of the most vivid written records of early Jewish life, documenting how Egyptian and Jewish residents interacted. Whether your interest lies in temples and tombs, intercultural contact, or the practice of archaeology itself, this course offers a deep and richly contextualized journey into the life and legacy of Aswan and Elephantine.
Dr Stephen P. Harvey
Steve Harvey is Director of the Ahmose and Tetisheri Project at Abydos, Egypt, a position he has held since 1993. His excavations at the monumental complex of King Ahmose (ca. 1550–1525 BCE) have led to major discoveries, including the identification of previously unknown temples, the pyramid of Queen Tetisheri, and thousands of fragments from the site’s elaborate decorative program. He received his Ph.D. in Egyptian Archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania and his B.A. in Archaeological Studies from Yale University.
Dr. Harvey has held academic and curatorial positions at the University of Chicago, University of Memphis, and the Walters Art Museum. In addition to his work at Abydos, he has participated in archaeological fieldwork at Giza and Memphis in Egypt, as well as in Syria, Turkey, and the United States. A frequent lecturer internationally, he has led over 30 study tours to Egypt, Sudan, and Jordan. He has also appeared in numerous television documentaries on ancient Egypt for National Geographic, PBS NOVA, Discovery Channel, and other international networks.
Booking instructions
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Session links will be available in the course Classroom. Room opens 30 minutes before the lecture begins. If you do not have the course link or have any other queries please get in touch.