New technology is an amazing thing, and thanks to this web site, which has been running for a few years now, we can keep people all around the world in touch with our activities and also take the opportunity to include some interesting articles and news items too. Interest in Ancient Egypt seems to be on the increase, both in Britain and the wider world. Over the last few years many new Egyptology Societies have been established around Great Britain. Manchester has always had an important role to play in Egyptology and is the oldest and largest of over 30 local Egyptology Societies in the United Kingdom (apart from the Egypt Exploration Society based in London which has over a hundred years head-start on us). Our core activity is our monthly meeting for lectures in Manchester, although our members come from a wide area in the North West of England, with some travelling from St Albans, Birmingham and Hull to attend the meetings. The Manchester Museum has an excellent Egyptian collection and is literally 'on the doorstep' to many of our members. Although most of the objects were collected at the end of the last century and the early years of this, the museum is still at the forefront of Egyptological research, with Dr. Rosalie David from the nearby Manchester University leading a team working on the study of mummies and diseases in Ancient Egypt.

Manchester also hosts an annual series of lectures organised by the Egyptian Exploration Society. I like to think all the activities of our own Society compliment all this activity and help to make Manchester a real centre for Egyptology.

The main advantage of belonging to a Society, apart of course from having the opportunity to hear world-class lecturers speaking on their latest research and discoveries, is that it gives everyone the chance to meet with fellow enthusiasts and share, what to many is an unusual interest. Discussion, debate and the pooling of ideas and knowledge is an important part of Society life

Our lecture programme always includes some internationally-known Egyptologists, but we also have a policy of encouraging our own members to give lectures too. We have even launched a number of excellent speakers onto the Egyptology lecture circuit in the U.K.

This mixture of expert and enthusiast is, I think, very important and a good thing for Egyptology. It can be argued that the subject can be dominated by academics and experts, perhaps with fixed ideas, possibly even taught by the previous generation of Egyptological experts. The "amateur" can look at aspects of Ancient Egypt from a completely new and fresh viewpoint, perhaps with the benefit of some specialist skill or trade, be it builder or architect, which can help to explain some of the supposed "mysteries" of the ancient civilization.

In addition to our monthly meetings we also hold the occasional study days, trips to museums with Egyptian collections around the world as well as trips to Egypt, often to visit the more obscure sites.

Potential members should be warned that membership of an Egyptology Society can have a severe effect on one’s life, for an interest shared and nourished can become a passion. I now find that Egyptology is now the main part of my life, as I know it is with a number of other Society members. Such “amateurs” in the true sense, those who study the subject for the love of it can add as much to the total sum of knowledge about this fascinating subject as the “professionals”. In fact I would argue that those who come to the subject late, perhaps with other training, job skills and practical experience of life, can actually contribute more to the subject that a newly qualified professional who might possibly have a blinkered and narrow outlook on the subject.

So…. The moral is join an Egyptology Society if you can. You can make new friends, share the love of the subject and perhaps actually make your mark on the study of ancient Egypt too.

Chairman Bob