Ancient Technology with Dr. Martin Odler
Interview recorded 2021. Dr. Martin Odler is a researcher at the Czech Institute of Egyptology, at Charles University in Prague. He studies the tools and objects that Egyptians used to build their famous monuments. Martin has worked on many excavations, and his research has added greatly to our knowledge of technology. He sat down with me to discuss this work, and the insights we can gain from ancient tools and metals. Learn more about Dr. Odler on Academia.edu, on Twitter, and buy his book Old Kingdom Copper Tools and Model Tools (2016) available from Archaeopress and all good booksellers. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
29 Jul 201346min
15: The Enduring Ka
Dynasty 6 and new ideas. Around 2440 BCE, a new king came to power. King Djed-ka-Re ("The Spirit of Re Endures") was an effective ruler, who reformed the government and left a rich artistic and written record... Date c. 2440 - 2410 BCE Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com. Logo: the caroutche of Djed-ka-Re, by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin via Wikimedia CC BY-SA 4.0. Select Bibliography: Nigel Strudwick, Texts from the Pyramid Age, 2005 (Google Books). Mark Lehner, The Complete Pyramids, 2008. Ancient Egypt Online – Djedkare Izezi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
22 Jul 201329min
14: The Joy of Re's Heart
An Uphill Battle. The reign of King Ny-user-Re was not a bed of lotuses. After a rocky start, the young ruler worked to make his household and kingdom prosperous. We see this trend in a flowering of artistic and written culture... Date c.2445 BCE Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com. Logo image: The pyramid of Niuserre, by Neithsabes CC-BY 3.0 via Wikimedia. Select Bibliography: Miroslav Verner, The Pyramids, 2002. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms, 1973 (2006 paperback edition). Harold M. Hays, “The Death of the Democratization of the Afterlife” in Old Kingdom, New Perspectives, 2011 (Free Download). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
8 Jul 201332min
13: The Hairdressers Cometh
I Got You, Fam. After a series of short reigns, King Ny-User-Re came to power and brought some much-needed stability. In his long reign, Niuserre strengthened the power of his government and household. Many records survive from this period, like fascinating tales of the King's hairdressers Nyankhkhnum and Khnumhotep. These two men might be the earliest recorded homosexual couple in ancient Egyptian history... Ny-Ankh-Khnum and Khnum-Hotep: Photos of the tomb by Chris Irie and Kairoinfo4u. Episode details: Date c.2455 - 2440 BCE. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com. Select Bibliography: Linda Evans and Alexandra Woods, “Further Evidence that Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep were Twins,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (2016). Greg Reeder, ‘Queer Egyptologies of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep‘ (2008). Vera Vasiljevic, ‘Embracing his double: Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep’, Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 37 (2008). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
24 Jun 201338min
12: I Make the Soul Beautiful
Quick Successions. After the death of Sahure, multiple kings came and went in a short span of time. In this episode, we follow the reigns of Nefer-ir-ka-Re ("Making the Soul of Re Beautiful") and Ra-nefer-ef. This period is murky, but we will get through it. Oh, and another powerful queen shows up to manage affairs... Date c.2570 - 2555 BCE Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com. Select Bibliography: Miroslav Verner, Abusir III: the Pyramid Complex of Khentkaus, 2001. Paule Posener-Kriéger, Les Archives du Temple Funéraire de Neferirkare Kakai – Les Papyrous d’Abousir, 1976. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
10 Jun 201328min
11: Off To Punt We Go
The Great Fleet. Around 2485 BCE, King Userkaf died and passed the throne to his son, Sahure ("One Who is Close to Re"). At this point, Egyptians launched the first (recorded) expedition to Punt. This mysterious land, somewhere near Ethiopia, Somalia or Yemen, was a major destination for trade. Sahure commemorated the event lavishly... Date c.2480 BCE Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com. Select Bibliography: Tarek el-Awady, Abusir XVI: Sahure – the Pyramid Causeway, 2009. Gay Robins, The Art of Ancient Egypt, 2008. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
29 Apr 201333min
10: A Temple To The Sun
New Dynasty, New Me. Around 2490 BCE, a new lineage held royal power. Khentykaus I and her son, Userkaf, had established a new household. Now, the next generations of rulers had some interesting innovations in religion and monuments... Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.net. Website at www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show at www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Select Bibliography: Miroslav Verner, Abusir: Realm of Osiris, 2004. Mark Lehner, The Complete Pyramids, 2008. Ian Shaw (editor), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, 2004. Gay Robins, The Art of Ancient Egypt, 2008. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
15 Apr 201333min
09: She Is Foremost
Khenty-kaus, the Lady Ruler. Around 2500 BCE, Menkaure died without an heir. His sister Khenty-Kau-es ("She is Foremost") stepped into the vacuum and governed the state on behalf of her young sons. This was an interesting period, with a lasting impact on royal power... Date c. 2500 - 2490 BCE Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com. Select Bibliography: Vivienne Gae Callender, In Hathor’s Image: the Wives and Mothers of Egyptian Kings from Dynasties I-VI, 2012 (Amazon). Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, 2010 (Amazon). Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, 1994 (Amazon). Erik Hornung, Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: the One and the Many, 1996 (Amazon). Barry Kemp, Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization, 2005 (Amazon). Mark Lehner, The Complete Pyramids, 2008 (Amazon). Gay Robins, The Art of Ancient Egypt, 2008 (Amazon). John Romer, A History of Egypt: from the First Farmers to the Great Pyramid, 2013 (Amazon). Robert Wenke, The Ancient Egyptian State, 2009 (Amazon). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 Apr 201334min
