Egyptology

Egyptian Language, Culture, Literature, History, Religion, Economy

Egyptology as a separate discipline began with the decipherment of the hieroglyphs by Jean-Francois Champollion in 1822 and the first Chair of Egyptology in Germany was created in Berlin in 1842 for Carl Richard Lepsius. Since then, our knowledge of Ancient Egypt has grown immensely through lively international collaboration.

Today Egyptology incorporates all aspects of ancient Egyptian civilization from the Neolithic until the end of the Graeco-Roman period, i.e. roughly from 5000 B.C. until the seventh century of our era. Accessing the rich records from the domains of ancient Egyptian religion, literature, economy, history and even material culture requires a good knowledge of the language.

Due to the contacts between the ancient Egyptian civilization and its African and Asiatic neighbours, Egyptology requires collaboration with African and Semitic studies as well as Near-Eastern archaeology and history. For the study of the Graeco-Roman period in Egypt, sound knowledge of the classical languages is also of paramount importance.

Egyptology in Trier

Egyptology has been represented at Trier University since the winter semester of 1977/78. Its orientation is largely determined by its participation in the Forschungszentrum Griechisch-Römisches Ägypten (Research Center Graeco-Roman Egypt). In addition to Egyptology this centre comprises the academic subjects of Ancient History, Classical Archaeology and Papyrology. It proposes to further the study of Graeco-Roman Egypt in all its aspects through interdisciplinary research.

For several years the opportunities for academic collaboration within the subject have been expanded through the Zentrum für Altertumswissenschaften Trier (ZAT) = Center for Classial Studies in Trier. This is reflected in the broad bachelor’s degree programme Antike Welt (Ancient World).

About Our Course of Studies

Our bachelor’s and master’s curriculums place a pronounced importance on the ancient Egyptian language in all its stages. They propose to present a solid philological training that prepares students for independent literary criticism and editing texts. Introductory courses, work placements, colloquia, tutorials and lectures convey general knowledge of the culture, history and religion of ancient Egypt.

The very nature of Egyptology as the study of a culture defined in space and time means it can be studied in combination with any from a variety of more theoretical subjects such as history, art history, law, religion, etc. For the acquisition of archaeological methodology, the combination with Klassische Archäologie (Classical Archaeology) is very attractive.