Papyrus Speaks: Ancient Egypt in Its Own Words
Dr Michael Zellmann, a rising star of Australian humanities research, brings the voices of ancient Egypt back to life through papyrus – the plant-based writing material that carried the words of the ancient world for thousands of years.
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When
5.30pm, Monday 21 September
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Where
Hutton Theatre
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Price
Free
In this talk, Michael introduces papyrology with a focus on collections held here in Aotearoa New Zealand, including Tūhura's own. Surviving papyri date from the third millennium BCE to the first millennium CE, preserving everything from literature and spiritual texts to the everyday business of daily life. Though used across the Mediterranean, papyrus survives in bulk only in Egypt's dry climate – making it a key source for Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern history alike.
Dr Michael Zellmann is a palaeographer, epigraphist, and papyrologist researching ancient religion and magic. He is a Gale Research Fellow at Macquarie University, Sydney, and a Director-at-Large of the American Society of Papyrologists. In 2024 he was named one of ten "rising stars" by the Australian Academy of the Humanities.
