The Recent, the Ancient, and the Very Ancient: Entangled Pasts of the so-called Book of Two Ways door dr. Wael Sherbiny

Zondag 31 mei 2026 in Elst, Mehen Studiecentrum, Rijksstraatweg 107A. Aanvang 14.00 uur.

Toegang € 12,00 voor donateurs, € 5,00 voor studenten, € 15,00 voor niet donateurs (inclusief thee e/o koffie).

After more than 120 years since its discovery, the so-called Book of Two Ways still fascinates and puzzles the minds of researchers.  It is primarily a pictorial-textual composition attested mainly on the insides of a number of Middle Kingdom coffins from the nomarchal and elite cemetery of the Hare nome province in Middle Egypt. The capital of this province was the famous city of Al-Ashmunein (Hermopolis Magna), and the main cult center of the celebrated god Djehuty (Thoth).  The composition is by far the most pictorially elaborate composition of religious nature that reached us from ancient Egypt predating the New Kingdom. It also includes precursors of a number of prominent Book of the Dead spells that survived in later times through the Roman Period. Although this intriguing composition has been the focus of several scholarly studies over the past century, many of its aspects and their underlying meanings are still shrouded in mystery. The talk will touch upon the intricate questions surrounding this composition on the one hand, and offer historical survey and assessment of the previous scientific endeavors while revisiting their conceptual premises on the other. Some of the most recent findings including hitherto unpublished material will also be shared for the first time with the audience of Mehen.