Talk like an Egyptian: Dr. Bob Brier at Ohio's Toledo Museum of Art

Egypt, mummies and the pyramids fascinate Dr. Bob Brier (a.k.a. "Mr. Mummy"), and plenty of other people also find those subjects fascinating--judging by the standing-room-only crowd at Brier's appearance at the Toledo Museum of Art this past weekend.

It's one thing to be a world-renowned Egyptologist like Brier. It's quite another thing to have a knack for making ancient history come alive, and to hold the rapt attention of 500 people (including a fair number of young kids) for over an hour of listening to the latest theory about pyramid building as Brier did that Friday evening at the TMA.

I spotted a TMA posting on Facebook saying that Brier was appearing in the museum's Little Theater the next evening. An article in the Toledo Blade newspaper explained that Brier would talk about the building of the Great Pyramid, and how new research Brier did with French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin advances the theory that ancient Egyptians built the pyramid using internal ramps.

We were already familiar with Brier because we watched a series of his lectures about the "History of Ancient Egypt" on DVDs from The Teaching Company. Tim took a class about ancient Egyptian history when he first started graduate school, and while he was on hiatus from school, we found Brier's taped lectures and watched them together.

Dr. Brier, a Senior Research Fellow at the C.W. Post Campus of New York's Long Island University, is one of the world's most well regarded experts on mummies. He was the first person in 2,000 years to mummify a human cadaver using the Egyptian's ancient methods. He also wrote several scholarly books about Egyptian history and mysteries.

Brier's conversational manner and obvious passion for the subject held our attention through a series of 48 half-hour lectures on tape, so we found ourselves driving the hour-plus down to Toledo on a rainy night to hear the professor in person.

The museum folks had, by this time, figured that Brier would be a big draw and moved his lecture to the Grand Gallery, with seating set up for about 300 people. We managed to get there early enough to snag decent seats, but all of those seats filled well before the lecture's scheduled start. By the time Brier was ready to speak, we estimated at least 500 people were in the room--some sitting in extra seats museum staffers kept bringing out, kids sitting on the floor in front of the first rows of seats, and a few other people standing along the perimeter of the room.

We immediately recognized the professor as he wandered into the room, wearing his signature blue work shirt and khaki slacks. Brier's casual style carried through the lecture, even with so many people crowded into the gallery.

Check out Brier's article in the July/August 2009 issue of Archaeology magazine for an idea of what we heard and saw during his TMA presentation. Again, Brier's accessible style gives casual readers a good understanding of the research and an intimate glimpse into Brier's explorations at the Great Pyramid in searing 111-degree heat.

You may see Brier pop up in a cable television special or IMAX movie--this is an Egyptologist with his own page at the Internet Movie Database!--but kudos to the Toledo Museum of Art and the Archaeological Institute of America, Toledo Society, for bringing Brier to northern Ohio, and bringing such a good crowd together to see him in person.

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

Comments

[gypsyscarlett]

I've been fascinated with Egyptology since I was a little kid.

That must have been such a thrill to hear Dr. Brier speak in person.

[Dominique]

Gypsy-It was a great event. It was amazing to see closely like the taped Dr. Brier was to seeing him in person. He really is quite good at making his subject matter interesting and accessible to a lay audience.
The Toledo Museum later reported that nearly 600 people showed up, so my estimate of 500 was pretty close. Dr. Brier's books were quickly snapped up--gone before we could find where they were selling them. I'm glad I happened to catch the announcement of the speech, and that we could go down there. Most folks saw it in the newspaper (according to a show of hands when the museum's director asked that question), but I saw it on Facebook before I saw it in the online version of The Blade.