PRESS RELEASE –
THAMES VALLEY ANCIENT EGYPT SOCIETY ANNOUNCES £2000 in DONATIONS

Reading, UK, 6^th July 2011
The Thames Valley Ancient Egypt Society (TVAES) today announces the inaugural set of awards from its Donation Fund established in 2010.   In this initial set of grants Reading based charity TVAES has awarded a total of £2000 to ten archaeological missions to Egypt and Sudan.  Although some missions to Egypt were forced to interrupt work in Egypt during the revolution, many projects continued without a break, and a full season of work is anticipated during 2011-12.  In announcing these grants today TVAES is supporting excavation, epigraphic, recording, conservation and survey work across eleven ancient Egyptian sites.  Recognising the global nature of Egyptology the grants have been made not just to UK based institutions but also to those based in Russia, Belgium and the US with many of these missions working alongside Egyptian or Sudanese colleagues. 

Applications were sought globally for grants and the fund was many times oversubscribed.  “We were faced with some very difficult choices” comments TVAES Chairman John Billman, “we had to prioritize those doing the most urgent work and in most need of the funds this year”.  Many of the participants in archaeological missions volunteer their time, but still face expenses in terms of local salaries, travel, accommodation and specialist equipment, and these costs made up most of the grants.  Some equipment can be used across multiple projects “we were absolutely delighted to receive funding from TVAES. The purchase of a specialist camera supports not only our work at Amheida in Egypt’s Western Desert but also our new collaborative project with the University of Khartoum to help train Sudanese students and colleagues through re-examining past work at Meroe.” comments Dr Anna Boozer of the University of Reading. 

Most of the work as a result of these awards will take place over the 2011-12 winter season with publication to follow.

About the Thames Valley Ancient Egypt Society www.tvaes.org.uk
The Thames Valley Ancient Egypt Society (TVAES) was established in 1994 to promote the study and public dissemination of culture, religion, art, language, life and death in ancient Egypt.  The society holds public lectures, study days and evening classes in Berkshire and organizes study tours to Egypt and Sudan.  Membership is open to anyone interested in ancient Egypt and visitors can attend most events.
Media Contacts    : John Billman, Chairman, chairman@tvaes.org.uk +44 (0) 1488 668340

Appendix A - TVAES Donation Fund Awards List 2011