Exploring Egypt’s Middle Kingdom at the Site of Ancient Thebes

Antonio J. Morales, Assistant Professor of Egyptology, University of Alcalá; Real Colegio Complutense Visiting Fellow 2022, Harvard University; Director, The Middle Kingdom Theban Project

One of ancient Egypt's high points of cultural, intellectual, and social life was the period referred to as the Middle Kingdom (2030–1650 BCE). The ancient city of Thebes (modern Luxor) was the Egyptian capital during the early stage of this period and the site of multiple funerary temples and tombs. In this lecture, Egyptologist Antonio Morales discusses an international and multidisciplinary project that is conducting archaeological, historical, and cultural research, as well as conservation work, in Deir el-Bahari and Asasif—two funerary areas at Thebes—to better understand the city’s role in the development of Egypt’s classical age.

About the Speaker

Antonio Morales is assistant professor in Egyptology in the Seminar of Ancient History at the University of Alcalá (UAH). He is currently based in Harvard’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations as Real Colegio Complutense Visiting Professor. Previously, he was lecturer in Egyptology and research associate at Freie Universität Berlin, postdoctoral researcher at Heidelberg Universität, and assistant researcher at Mainz Universität. He obtained his PhD in Egyptology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2013. Antonio Morales has participated in several expeditions to Egypt and is currently the director of The Middle Kingdom Theban Project, a research initiative concerned with the documentation, study, and publication of tombs of the late Eleventh Dynasty and early Middle Kingdom in the necropoles of Deir el-Bahari and Asasif at Thebes (Luxor). He has published multiple articles in scientific journals and contributions to books.