London seminar: Navigating the Egyptian Nile: seasonal waterways, storms and other wrecking hazards REARRANGED
Event Info
Host: EES
Type: Education - Lecture
Time and Place
Start Time: Saturday, 20th November 2010, 11:00 am
End Time: Saturday, 20th November 2010, 4:00 pm
Location: The EES
Street: 3 Doughty Mews
City/Town: London WC1N 2PG
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Contact Details
Email: contact@ees.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)20 7242 1880
Link:
Description
This seminar was originally to be given on Saturday 29 May but was postponed due to a disruption to Dr Cooper’s schedule caused by the volcanic ash cloud. It has now been rearranged (see the new date above).
PLEASE NOTE: Members who had made a booking for the original event should keep their tickets if they intend to come on the new date. Any members who are unable to attend on 20 November are asked to contact the Society as soon as possible so that a refund can be arranged and the place reallocated.
Navigating the Egyptian Nile is often thought to have been relatively easy, with ascent of the river assisted by predominantly northerly winds, and descent aided by the river current. In fact, matters were rather more complicated, and harder work. The cycle of the Nile flood created distinct seasons for navigation, with some major waterways open for limited periods only. A receding Nile made for dangerous progress, while variable winds and a winding river demanded regular punting and towing from river crews in order to make progress. Storms and wrecking events were surprisingly frequent throughout the river, while particular locations - the cataracts and the Nile mouths in particular - presented their own unique hazards. This seminar will investigate how navigational conditions influenced the wider landscape of the Egyptian Nile in antiquity and, in particular, the medieval period, and will be led by:
Dr John Cooper, Post-doctoral Research Fellow of the MARES Project, Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter.