Themes

The conference will be organised around a series of major themes within the broader subject of the origins of the Egyptian state (from the Predynastic period to the end of the Second Dynasty), with a particular emphasis on recent archaeological results. Papers and posters will be presented on:

• Results of recent fieldwork

• Temple, ritual and cult

• Funerary ritual

• Objects and technology

• Architecture

• Egypt, its deserts and neighbours

Workshops to discuss the outstanding issues surrounding Egyptian state formation, Early Dynastic potmarks, chronology and 'script as material culture' have also been organised to encourage debate, if not resolution.