Helen Neale completed her DPhil in Egyptology at Oxford University, researching the monuments and ideology of Egypt's 13th Dynasty. She is particularly interested in kingship during times of crisis, and how kings with dubious claims to the throne generate a sense of legitimacy. Helen works as a Sessional Academic at Macquarie University, and previously worked as a Graduate Tutor at Oxford, where she has taught on varied topics from the role of the natural environment in the development of the early Egyptian state, to the portrayal of foreigners, workers, and women through an elite lens in Egyptian tombs. She has excavated in Egypt, at the site of Dra Abu el-Naga as part of the Macquarie Theban Tombs project in 2015/16. She is also a regular tutor at the Macquarie Ancient Languages School, where she teaches Egyptian hieroglyphs from absolute beginners to advanced readers. Helen has a great love of teaching: ‘I find that seeing others’ passion for ancient history continually invigorates my own’. She is delighted to be joining the community at WEA.
