Bloomsbury Summer School & Academy
Fascinated by ancient civilisations?
We offer anyone with any level of knowledge, inspiring short courses on ancient Egypt and other areas of the ancient world.
2026 course timetable
Monday 29 June to 3 Friday July
Crime, Sorcery, and Scandal: A somewhat different view of ancient Egypt (in person and online)
Course Director: Dr Christina Geisen (British Museum)
To be held in person at UCL Institute of Archaeology (31 - 34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY UK) and livestreamed online.
Monday 29 June
10:30 – 11:00*
Students gather in the BSS&A Common Room / login to Zoom
11:00 – 11:30
BSS&A Director’s Welcome Address
11:30 – 13:00
1. Setting the Scene: An introduction to key ideas and frameworks
Welcome Lunch in BSS&A Common Room (14:00 Short optional tour of UCL with the Director)**
14:30 – 15:45
2. Law and Justice in Pharaonic Egypt (Dr Alex Loktionov, HSE University Moscow, University of Cambridge & KCL)
16:15 – 17:30
3. Law and Justice in Late and Ptolemaic Period (Dr Adrienn Almasy-Martin, Visiting Scholar)
17:45
Non-BSS&A event: Get together with fellow students for a drink in the Woolf and Whistle Bar on the ground floor of the Tavistock Hotel**
Tuesday 30 June
10:00 – 11:15
4. Pharaohs and People: A social history of Egypt’s New Kingdom
11:45 – 13:00
5. Life in the Village of the Tomb Builders: Deir el-Medina revealed
14:15 – 15:30
6. Intrigue and Scandals: Crime in Deir el-Medina
16:00 – 17:15
7. Robbing Gods and Kings: Tomb and temple theft in Deir el-Medina
17:15 – 18:30
BSS&S Social on Common Room balcony (you are welcome to invite guests)**
Wednesday 1 July
10:00 – 11:15
8. From Crisis to Collapse: Strike and economic decline in the New Kingdom
11:45 – 13:00
9. In-person participants: Tour of the Ancient Egypt Galleries in the British Museum** / Online participants: Screening Origins of Writing
14:15 – 15:30
10. Spells and Secrets: The world of ancient Egyptian magic
16:00 – 17:15
11. The Power to Transform: Changing reality in ancient Egypt
17:30
Non-BSS&A event: Get together with fellow students for dinner at Poppadom Indian Kitchen in the Tavistock Hotel**
Thursday 2 July
10:00 – 11:15
12. Facing Adversity: Lessons from ancient Egyptian literature
11:45 – 13:00
13. Murder in the Palace: Intrigue and conspiracy in ancient Egypt
14:15 – 15:30
14. Divine Drama: Conflict and scandal in the world of the gods
16:00 – 17:15
15. Facing the Afterlife: Trials and triumphs
Friday 3 July
10:00 – 11:15
16. Group I: Object handling session in the British Museum / Group II: Treasure Hunt in the galleries / Online participants: Treasure hunt and study objects via BM online collection
11:45 – 13:00
17. Group II: As group 1 above / Group I: As Group II above / Online: As above
14:00 – 15:15
18. Conceptualising a Museum Display on Crime and Sorcery
15:45 – 17:15
19. When Tradition Broke: The scandal of the Amarna Period
17:15 – 19:00
End-of-Course Drinks Party on the BSS&A Common Room balcony (you are welcome to invite guests)**
* All times are London UK time; ** In-person participants only.
NB: Timetable, once published, are unlikely to change, but remain provisional until the first day of the course.
