Through Heat and Sand: Egyptology Students’ Fieldwork in Egyptian Museums and Necropolises
Students of the Bachelor’s in Egyptology at the Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies, HSE Faculty of Humanities, spent ten days in the extreme conditions of the Egyptian heat exploring ancient tombs, creating 3D models of reliefs, and mastering Egyptology not from textbooks but through direct engagement with monuments. As they stepped out from cool burial chambers into the blazing sun, they joked that ‘It’s better to be a dead Egyptian than a living one.’
Ancient Egyptians Were Less Afraid of Death Than Commonly Believed
Ekaterina Alexandrova, Academic Supervisor of the Egyptology programme at HSE University, has studied the funerary practices of ancient Egyptians based on religious texts and the works of Egyptologists from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Traditionally, it was believed that Egyptian religion was built solely on the fear of death. However, an analysis of texts reveals that ancient Egyptian beliefs were not merely reflections of a fear of death, but a complex system aimed at preserving order and stability both in life and the afterlife. The study has been published in the journal Shagi/Steps.
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