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Away with the Pharaohs

Away with the Pharaohs

Written by: The Egypt Exploration Society
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About this listen

Step into the world of the pharaohs with a podcast that brings Egypt to life in ways you’ve never heard before. Hosted by Charlotte Jordan, Engagement Manager at the Egypt Exploration Society, this series blends academic expertise with lively storytelling to explore the marvels and myths that have fascinated the world for centuries.

Drawing on the Egypt Exploration Society’s unparalleled collections, publications and network of world-leading Egyptologists, this podcast invites you to go beyond the stereotypes and explore what ancient and medieval Egypt can teach us about power, identity, and human ingenuity. Each episode tackles a theme at the heart of Egyptian history and culture, pointing out details that you may be surprised to learn about this popular civilisation. Entertaining, thought-provoking, and always grounded in evidence, this is heritage with both style and substance—perfect for curious minds ready to dig a little deeper.

Listen to our full episodes answering your burning questions about Egyptian cultural heritage every first Wednesday of the month. Tune into our Spotlights for not-to-be-missed highlights or our Untold series reflecting on behind-the-scenes clips from our guest speakers! Check out our various accessibility features, including transcripts and a chronology of Egypt.

The Egypt Exploration Society is the UK’s leading Charity supporting and promoting Egyptian cultural heritage. To find out more about how you can support our work, visit our website.

Season One jingle: Time Traveller by Tellsonic, courtesy of Epidemic Sound.

The Egypt Exploration Society Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • Are ancient Egyptian funerary texts sacred guides to the afterlife—or practical manuals for navigating death?

    Are ancient Egyptian funerary texts sacred guides to the afterlife—or practical manuals for navigating death?
    Mar 4 2026

    Specialist on funerary texts, Dr Christina Geisen, joins our host Charlotte Jordan at the Egypt Exploration Society. Trace the 2,000-year evolution of ancient Egyptian funerary texts, including the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts and Book of the Dead. The episode highlights that these were never ‘books’, but unique sets of spells drawn from a shared but developing tradition. Explore how these examples shifted from royal to private spheres, even though belief in the afterlife was attested from very early Pharaonic history. Focus turns to examples from arguably the most famous text corpora: the Book of the Dead, including spells isolated for specific amulets. We touch upon the magical power of these documents, as their presence alone was enough to prepare the deceased for the journey to the afterlife. Finally, these texts link to actions of the gods and goddesses, commenting on the wider spirituality of these texts and providing an understanding towards broader Egyptian religious belief.

    Learn more at https://www.ees.ac.uk/ or follow us on Social Media: @TheEES or @egyptexplorationsociety or #AwayWithThePharaohs.
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    39 mins
  • Did Egyptian gods and goddesses empower everyday worship—or reinforce state control?

    Did Egyptian gods and goddesses empower everyday worship—or reinforce state control?
    Feb 4 2026

    Specialist on Egyptian religion and EES Development Manager, Dr Edward Scrivens, joins our host Charlotte Jordan at the Egypt Exploration Society. The episode opens with a brief overview of religion in ancient Egypt, before exploring the complex, fluid nature of its gods and goddesses and the rituals that empowered them. It introduces key deities, including many forms of the sun god, Amun-Ra as king of the gods, and the family of Osiris, Isis, Horus, and Seth, before examining the pharaoh’s divine role and responsibility to uphold Ma’at or cosmic order. The focus then shifts to non-royal individuals who could be deified and to acts of personal devotion, ending with local and domestic deities that reveal a more intimate, personalised form of worship beyond state control.

    Learn more at https://www.ees.ac.uk/ or follow us on Social Media: @TheEES or @egyptexplorationsociety or #AwayWithThePharaohs.
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    42 mins
  • Are Egyptian artefacts in museums priceless treasures—or just ancient pieces of a puzzle?

    Are Egyptian artefacts in museums priceless treasures—or just ancient pieces of a puzzle?
    Jan 7 2026

    Specialist on museums, Dr Anna Garnett, joins our host Charlotte Jordan at the Egypt Exploration Society. Explore how different types of Egyptian artefacts, including pottery, jewellery, shabtis, and tools, can help us understand daily life in ancient Egypt as well as the people behind the objects. We will take you behind the scenes of museum work, examining how objects are numbered, interpreted, and presented to the public. The discussion then ends on how these objects ended up in collections outside Egypt, considering excavation and distribution practices, and what it means for Egyptian material culture to be held in museums around the world.

    Learn more at https://www.ees.ac.uk/ or follow us on Social Media: @TheEES or @egyptexplorationsociety or #AwayWithThePharaohs.
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    41 mins
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