Upcoming Classes and Webinars
I offer remote, live webinars and classes about ancient Egypt. Topics include religion and magic, history, animals, literature, art, and much more. Classes focused on how to read hieroglyphs and hieratic teach you step-by-step the language and writing systems of ancient Egypt.
June 2026 Classes
Ancient Egyptian Lives meets live on Zoom June 9, 16, 23, 30 and July 7th from 2-3:30 and 8-9:30 PM US Eastern Time. The same material is covered in the two time slots, but each class is a unique experience with Q & A. The registration fee is $95, which gives you access to both sections of the live class, recordings (viewable for one month), a curated reading list of freely available material, and an invitation to a private Discord server.
Upcoming Live Class Series: Ancient Egyptian Lives
This course will explore ancient Egyptian history, society, and culture through individual lives, and each session will focus on a city or town and the people who lived there.
Class 1: Introducing Ancient Egyptian Lives
Class 5: Lives at “The Village”
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN LIVES meets live on Zoom June 9, 16, 23, 30 and July 7th from 2-3:30 and 8-9:30 PM US Eastern Time. Both sections cover the same material, and I set aside time in each class for Q&A. The registration fee for the class is $95, for which you receive the Zoom link, 7.5 hours of class, a curated reading list of freely available materials, and access to the recordings for one month. Purchase on Paypal at the link below or on Venmo @vintage-egyptologist (please include the email where you would like me to send the materials).
HOW TO READ HIEROGLYPHS UNIT 1 is a five-part class that meets live on Zoom Mondays, June 8, 15, 22, 29 and July 6 from 9-10PM US Eastern Time and Wednesdays June 10, 17, 24, July 1 and July 8 from 3-4 PM US Eastern Time. Both sections cover the same material each week, and you can attend either or both (if you want the review). The registration fee is $150 and includes the live classes, readings and exercises, permanent access to the recordings, and an invitation to a private Discord server.
Upcoming Live Class Series:
How to Read Hieroglyphs: Unit 1
Start your hieroglyphic journey with HOW TO READ HIEROGLYPHS Unit 1. Join a community of over three hundred people from around the world who have learned how to read hieroglyphs through my Zoom classes, which take you step-by-step through the writing system and grammar. Unit 1 covers the uses of hieroglyphs, cartouches, and offering formulae. No prior knowledge is required for the course, and once you complete Unit 1 (a class that meets one hour a week over five weeks), you can move on to Unit 2 and then reading actual texts directly off the walls of ancient tombs and temples.
HOW TO READ HIEROGLYPHS UNIT 1 meets live on Zoom, Mondays June 8, 15, 22, 29 and July 6 from 9-10PM and Wednesdays June 10, 17, 24, and July 1 and 8 from 3-4 PM US Eastern Time (the two classes cover the same material each week). Checkout with Paypal below or purchase through Venmo @vintage-egyptologist. Fee: $150.
Gift Certificates
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Gift Certificates ⋆
Give the gift of learning! This gift card can be redeemed for any Zoom Egyptology class at colleendarnell.com. New classes begin in mid-January 2026 and will include How to Read Hieroglyphs Unit 1 and Mummies and the Afterlife, with many more exciting offerings to come.
I began my Zoom Egyptology program in January 2021 with a single goal: to make learning about hieroglyphs and ancient Egypt more accessible. Since then, I have taught hundreds of people around the world the basics of the ancient Egyptian writing system--and dozens of those students have continued on to my advanced classes, where they read original texts directly from the walls of tombs, temples, and papyri! When you enroll in one of my live classes, you are not only getting a unique experience and opportunity to ask questions, but you are also joining a community of people around the world (20 countries and counting!) who share your interest in ancient Egypt.
In my lecture courses, you can explore topics as diverse as daily life, fashion and beauty to creation theology, solar religion, and the Valley of the Kings, to historical fiction, love poetry, and ancient Egypt in film (just to name a few). My teaching and research philosophy rests on one, simple principle: begin with the primary sources. In every class, I show you hieroglyphic and hieratic texts that are the basis of what we know about each topic. I combine this with artistic, architectural, and archaeological evidence to create new and exciting perspectives about ancient Egypt. Every class registration also comes with a curated list of freely available reading resources as well as recommendations for your Egyptological bookshelf, so that you can access the best secondary sources as well (including authors who present opposing viewpoints). Every registration also comes with access to a private Discord server, where you can chat with other students, share news stories, and access reading lists from previous classes.
I hope you can join me!
Past Hieroglyph Reading & Grammar Courses
Tomb of Nefertari
Hymn to Aten
Story of Sinuhe
Introduction to Coptic
Tomb of Nefertari
Tomb of Khnumhotep
Medical Texts
My hieroglyph program is structured around a grounding in grammar followed by courses where you read directly from temple or tomb walls; I also offer a wide-range of advanced courses that focus on different genres, including literary, religious, historical, and medical texts. Texts originally composed in hieratic are read in hieroglyphic transcriptions, with additional hieratic sections where students read the texts in the original script. The classes listed here are a small selection of previous courses, and additional classes grammar classes Non-verbal Sentences, Pseudo-verbal sentences, The Egyptian Verb. Tomb and temple classes have focused on the Tomb of Djehutyhotep II, Tomb of Paheri, Theban Tombs of the New Kingdom, Medinet Habu Temple (and more); advanced reading courses have included the Coffin Texts, Capture of Joppa, Papyrus Westcar, Rock Inscriptions of Elkab, the Story of Sinuhe, Medical Texts, the Annals of Thutmose III, Kadesh Battle Poem (and more!).
Introduction to Hieratic
The Book of the Hidden Chamber
Pseudo-verbal Sentences
Tomb of Sennedjem
Letters to the Dead
Past Lecture Classes
Secrets of the Valley of the Kings
How to Cast a Spell in Ancient Egypt
Deciphering Cartouches
Party Like an Ancient Egyptian
Historical Fiction in Ancient Egypt
Introduction to Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt in Creation Theology
Fashion and Beauty in the
Age of Cleopatra
Ancient Egypt in Film
A New Horizon: The Rise of Akhenaten and Nefertiti
The Life and Times of Hatshepsut
Egyptomania
Other past lecture classes include: The Ancient Egyptian Netherworld Books; Queens of Ancient Egypt and Nubia; Fundamentals of Ancient Egyptian Art; Magic, Alchemy and Hermeticism; Fashion and Beauty in the Age of Cleopatra; the Dawn of Egypt; Age of the Pyramids; The Goddess Isis; Tattooed Priestesses in Ancient Egypt; Animals in Ancient Egypt; Ancient Egyptian Military History; Fakes, Frauds, and Fantasies of Ancient Egypt (and more!).
Kind Words