Workers’ Educational Association
The UK’s largest voluntary sector provider of adult learning
Course Outline
This course outline describes what will be covered in your course.
It also sets out what you should expect to learn. There will be an opportunity for course
members to discuss the course content with the tutor.
Course Title
EGYPTOLOGY: From Flax to Fashion in Ancient Egypt
Course ID
C2415726
Tutor
Start date
16th January
2012
Day(s)/time(s
)
Mondays 1.30pm – 3.30pm
No. of sessions
10
Hours
per
session
Fees
Concessions
Rosalind Janssen
2
£70
Free on proof of
Income-related benefit
Venue: Wanstead House , 21 The Green, Wanstead, E11 2NT
Branch/Partner
Wanstead WEA
Branch/Partner
contact details
020 8555 9127
Publicity Description
What techniques enabled the Ancient Egyptians to produce diaphanous linen garments?
What were their everyday clothes? How often did they wash their underwear? Surviving
wardrobes, including that of Tutankhamun, ancient laundry lists and modern conservation
techniques will provide the answers.
Course Aims
The aim of the course is to provide an introduction to surviving garments and other Ancient
Egyptian textiles, with a view to evaluating spinning, weaving, sewing and pleating
techniques.
Main Topics Covered
 Introduction (Week 1)
The archaeological importance of textiles: woven fabrics and dyeing processes
Textile technology: from flax to fashion (Weeks 2 - 5)
Preparing the cloth: growing flax, spinning yarn, weaving fabric, as revealed by
surviving artefacts and representations
Sewing and darning: dressmaking techniques, embroidery stitches and repairs
The Laundry Service: washing and pleating, laundry lists and marks, the washermen’s
complaints
Textiles from Kahun, Amarna, and Gurob: the evidence of domestic fabrics from
settlement sites
Continued/
Main topics continued/
 Conserving textiles: Rescuing early dresses (Weeks 6 - 7)
The Tarkhan and Deshasheh dresses in the Petrie Museum: the reversal of garments
Bead-net dresses in the Petrie and Boston Museums: the flappers of Ancient Egypt
 Surviving Wardrobes: New Kingdom garments (Weeks 8 - 9)
The Wardrobes of Hatnofre and Kha: how the well-to-do dressed
Tutankhamun’s Wardrobe: a glimpse into the royal wardrobes of Tuthmosis IV,
Ramesses III, and, of course, Tutankhamun himself
 Conclusion (Week 10)
Dress, rank, and gender in Egyptian society: the prices of garments, from vizier to
prostitute: dress and undress
 Plus an optional museum visit to the Petrie Museum, University College
London to view extant garments
Pre-course preparation, reading, internet research etc.
Essential preparatory reading:
TITLE
Egyptian Textiles
AUTHOR
Hall, R.
PUBLISHER
Shire: Princes Risborough,
(1986; reprinted 2001) =
Shire Egyptology 4
ISBN 0 85263 800 0
Essential costs/materials
If you have difficulty meeting these costs please see the leaflet Services for Learners.
None, apart from return tube fares to Central London to participate in the optional field trip.
Entry Requirements/Level
No basic knowledge is required. The museum visit will involve the climbing of a flight of
stairs and some standing, although chairs can be provided). This introductory course will
be taught at Level 3
Your Learner Record will ask you to consider how far you feel you have progressed.
Qualification gained n/a
Awarding Body
n/a
Teaching and learning methods used
This course will be taught by tutor presentations using both Power Point and slides,
discussions, group and paired work, practical exercises, and weekly handouts forming preand post-class readings.
The WEA is committed to equality of opportunity and inclusive learning.
WEA London and Southern Regions' Support Centre
57 Riverside 2, Sir Thomas Longley Road, Rochester, Kent ME2 4DP
Tel: 01634 298600 Fax: 01634 298601 email: london&southernrsc@wea.org.uk
The Workers' Educational Association is a charity registered in England and Wales (number 1112775) and in
Scotland (number SC039239) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (number 2806910)
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Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course learners will be able to:
1. list 10 surviving garments from Ancient Egypt
2. evaluate the spinning, weaving, sewing and pleating techniques used by the Ancient
Egyptians
3. assess the importance of modern conservation in preserving Egyptian textiles for
posterity
How do you know you are learning?
Formative assessment activities will comprise mini quizzes, questions and answers and
regular informal feedback on progress. There will be a summative end-of-course
crossword.
Suggested Further Study and Progression Routes



Next term’s WEA Egyptology course at Wanstead House (taught by Joseph Clayton)
Birkbeck’s MA in Egyptology
The Early Textiles Study Group will host its next bi-annual Conference in 2012
Brief tutor profile
Rosalind Janssen first became interested in textiles and dresses while a curator at the
Petrie Museum at University College London in the 1970’s. She was responsible for the
discovery of several early garments, which we will few in our optional visit to this collection.
She has published many scientific articles on the subject and is the author of the Shire
publication Egyptian Textiles (reprinted 2001). Rosalind is treasurer of the Early Textiles
Study Group. She is currently employed at two institutions of the University of London:
Birkbeck (as a lecturer on the new MA in Egyptology), and the Institute of Education (as a
tutor on the Master of Teaching course). Rosalind has been teaching for the WEA since
1976, and is currently employed in a new role as a Lead Tutor for Surrey and Berkshire.
If you would like more information about other WEA courses, please contact
WEA London and Southern Regions’ Support Centre.
You can now enrol and pay online. Go to: www.wea.org.uk
The WEA is committed to equality of opportunity and inclusive learning.
WEA London and Southern Regions' Support Centre
57 Riverside 2, Sir Thomas Longley Road, Rochester, Kent ME2 4DP
Tel: 01634 298600 Fax: 01634 298601 email: london&southernrsc@wea.org.uk
The Workers' Educational Association is a charity registered in England and Wales (number 1112775) and in
Scotland (number SC039239) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (number 2806910)
D:\116095191.doc