Discovering Tutankhamun – From Howard Carter to DNA
An evening with Dr Zahi Hawass
Dates: 5 & 6 May 2015
Time: 20h – 22h
Venue: Allerheiligen-Hofkirche, Residenzstr. 1 | 80333 Munich, Germany
Website:
http://www.tut-ausstellung.com/tutanchamun/rahmenprogramm/zahi-hawass?location=muenchen
There is probably no other historic culture that is so closely associated in the public mind with the name of a single historical figure as that of Pharaonic Egypt. For almost a century, the enthusiasm and fascination with Ancient Egypt has focused on the discovery, the story and the sheer spectacle of the tomb treasures and persona of the young King Tutankhamun. The Pharaoh and the exhibition touring Europe were already the subject of public attention and lively discussion in all media back in the 1980s. The reasons for this are many and varied, as well as being well known. In recent years, however, our image of Tutankhamun and his role in history has changed. Egyptian archaeology has yielded an ever clearer picture of his importance in Egyptian history, his family relationships, and even the circumstances of his personal life. Scientific studies, new methods and discoveries of genetic research and detailed archaeological work have shed new and exciting light on our understanding of Tutankhamun.
Dr Zahi Hawass, key figure in the Egyptian antiquities administration for decades and one of the most influential but also controversial Egyptologists of his time, has been fascinated by Tutankhamun for many years, and surely no other scholar has worked more intensively in the field of the cult Pharaoh. In 2005, seeking the cause of the Pharaoh’s death, he had the mummy subjected to a CT scan. In 2010, Zahi Hawass again came to worldwide attention when he succeeded in isolating the DNA of Tutankhamun. In an exciting multimedia presentation, given in English, he will talk about the most recent discoveries concerning Tutankhamun and the 18th Dynasty, and present his new book, “Discovering Tutankhamun – from Carter to DNA”.
This new, lavish reference work on the history of the Boy King was published in German as “Auf den Spuren Tutanchamuns” in January 2015 by Theiss Verlag. Around 200 photographs, maps, and illustrations over 264 pages cover the history of the subject, from the discovery of the tomb to the most recent scientific discoveries of mummy research. The work was translated by Wilfried Seipel, the former Director of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, and one of the architects of the TUTANKHAMUN – THE TOMB AND THE TREASURES exhibition. This exhibition, now in Munich as TUTANCHAMUN – SEIN GRAB UND DIE SCHÄTZE, offers a new and exciting view of the splendid past of Egypt and caters to a young audience too.
Dr Wolfgang Wettengel, chief scientific adviser of the exhibition TUTANKHAMUN – HIS TOMB AND HIS TREASURES, will show Zahi Hawass on Wednesday, May 6th, his Egyptian highlights of Munich. Follow the German Facebook and Twitter accounts to take part in this tour.
We will report “live” from the tour on the following channels:
https://www.facebook.com/tutausstellung
https://twitter.com/tut_ausstellung
We will have the following destinations:
10:00 am Hofbrauhaus Munich
10:45 am Prinzregenten Theatre
11:30 am Obelisk at Karolinenplatz
Noon Egyptian Museum
1:00 pm University of Munich
2:30 pm Signing session at the exhibition TUTANKHAMUN – HIS TOMB AND HIS TREASURES
The full program is available here: http://www.tut-ausstellung.com/tutanchamun/mytut
